Blessing of the building after the ribbon cutting ceremony

Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, known as a temporary stop for travelers headed for the white sand beaches of Boracay Island, have earned the title “Gateway to paradise” for its Port of Roxas which provides a fairly less expensive way  to reach Caticlan.

In the coming years however, Roxas will no longer be recognized just as a transitory passage to beautiful places, but a path towards greater opportunities and possibilities for growth and learning.

The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) granted more than P5 Million to the community of Brgy. Dangay. Together with the local government of Roxas and Brgy. Dangay, they constructed a two-storey technical vocational school building for the Dangay Community College. The project, which started in 2012, was recently inaugurated and turned-over to the local government.

Brgy. Dangay is one of the 20 barangays in the municipality of Roxas, with almost eight hundred households. According to a situational analysis, interrelated problems in the locality were identified as the leading causes of poverty in the area. One of these is increasing number of out of school youth.

There are approximately 207 out of school youth in Brgy. Dangay alone. Because of the lack of permanent sources of income and the seasonal livelihoods such as farming and fishing, parents are not able to sustain their children’s education. Other students choose to seek employment in other places to be able to lighten their parents’ burden of earning enough money for the family.

Some students who are fortunate enough to attend college have to travel to neighboring towns, which only adds to the family’s expenses. The few private colleges in Roxas, on the other hand, require expensive tuition fees. On both cases, many students are still drop out and are unable to graduate because of financial troubles.

Recognizing their need, the community proposed the construction of an additional two-storey school building where students will be trained on technical vocational courses such as welding, electronics, and bookkeeping. According to Roxas Vice Mayor, Hon. Violeta L. Dimapilis, “Ito ay pundasyon na magagamit ng mga kabataan na nagnanais na mapagtapos sa pagaaral (This will be the foundation for the youth who are aspiring to finish their studies)”.

Because the youth of Roxas and nearby municipalities will finally have access to affordable and quality education, the sub-project will consequently provide economic opportunities to graduates of the courses. “Five years from now, we may encounter professionals and ask them where they graduated and they would tell us, from Dangay Community College, by Kalahi-CIDSS” said Irene Roque, Deputy Regional Program Manager (DPRM) of Kalahi-CIDSS MiMaRoPa.

The “Inauguration and Turn-over Ceremony of Kalahi CIDSS Subproject” was held last September 28 at the Dangay Community College. The volunteers, Area Coordinating Team and the local government all expressed their joy in the realization of the sub-project. Vice Mayor Dimapilis also conveyed her utmost appreciation to the Kalahi-CIDSS program and to everyone who exerted effort for the project and especially for the people who have been involved since the very beginning until its completion.

DPRM Roque also thanked the team saying, “kayo ang tunay na naglilingkod sa ating bansa (You are the true servants of our country)”. She also added that the Kalahi-CIDSS program in Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, would not be possible without the cooperation of the municipal and barangay LGUs and other partners.

The lack of a public college is one of the most pressing problems of the Brgy. Dangay and all the other barangays in Roxas. The local government will also be providing scholarships for students who aspire to finish their studies and are in need of financial assistance.

The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan- Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) is a DSWD program that seeks to help alleviate poverty through community-driven development. Community-Driven Development (CDD) puts power back in the hands of the people by giving them the opportunity to make informed decisions on locally identified options for development and manage resources to implement sub-projects that address needs identified by communities themselves. ###