KALAHI-CIDSS' cash-for-work trains local residents to maintain the conduct of Bayanihan-Pahina activity
By DSWD-Caraga
Months after
the completion of Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated
Delivery of Social Services' (KALAHI-CIDSS') cash-for-work (CFW) project in
Barangay Mahayahay, Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte, residents are still
maintaining the cleanliness of their village through the conduct of monthly
Bayanihan-Pahina (cleaning) activity.
Barangay Mahayahay residents conducted the regular Pahina activity to maintain the cleanliness in their vicinity in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases.
The CFW, which
is a subproject of the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD)
KALAHI-CIDSS PAMANA Indigenous People-Community-Driven Development (IP-CDD) in
Barangay Mahayahay, was completed on March 17, 2021.
The said
subproject costs P1,017,820, most of which were paid to the
beneficiaries/workers in the said barangay. It benefited 612 households, who
were paid by the program on a daily basis for work rendered for four or five
days.
Work includes
clearing of barangay roads, declogging of canals, and eliminating garbage in
the surroundings.
Residents also
dug compost pits and built garbage bins for proper waste disposal. They also
installed signage or placards to remind residents to dispose their trash
properly.
Keen on keeping
the tidiness of their village, residents committed to participate in the said
cleaning activity every last Friday of the month.
What
is CFW?
Cash-for-work
(CFW) is a short-term intervention to provide temporary employment to
distressed individuals who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Residents are
temporarily employed to clean and sanitize public places and offices, communal
livestock and/or vegetable/fruit gardening/farming, repacking of goods,
clearing of vital roads, among others.
In exchange for
the work rendered, program recipients are provided with cash to meet their
requirements for food and other basic necessities.
CFW is one of
the subprojects eligible for funding under Disaster Response Operation
Procedure (DROP), which allows the KALAHI-CIDSS-covered areas to shift its
operations from regular developmental activities into a disaster response
modality to immediately address issues related to early recovery.
KALAHI-CIDSS or
Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan - Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of
Social Services is one of the poverty alleviation programs of the government
being implemented by DSWD.
Fruits
of labor
Barangay
Mahayahay Community Sub-Project Management Committee chairperson Junjun A. Jok,
35, a Mamanwa tribe member, said that the CFW had really helped them in making
both ends meet during the pandemic and at the same time clean their barangay.
"Dako
kaayo katabang ang cash-for-work para sa among panginahanglanon. Sa amo pud
palibot, nahinlo. Dili lang sa gisakupan namo nga mga Lumad o mga tribu, apil
pud ang mga Bisaya (Cash-for work had really helped us on our needs. Not just
the Lumads’ surroundings were cleaned but including those areas occupied by the
Bisaya)," Jok said.
"Dako
kaayo epekto sa amo ang pandemya. Pang-uma na lang gyud amo pangita kay wala
man lain, bawal man mo dayo. Daghan kaayong salamat sa DSWD kay tanan among
panginahanglanon nasulbad (The pandemic has a huge effect on us. We only relied
on farming for a living as we were not allowed to travel to work. Thank you so
much DSWD for meeting all our needs)," he added.
Jessa B.
Galban, a 26-year-old Mamanwa woman, also expressed her gratitude to the CFW of
KALAHI-CIDSS. "Dako ang tabang ang cash-for-work sa amo kay panahon sa
pandemic kay nag-lisud mi. Nagpasalamat ko sa KALAHI kay dghan akong nakat-unan
ug daghan pud project gi-ahatag sa amo (The cash-for-work was a big help for us
as we have struggled so much during the pandemic. I'm grateful to KALAHI for I have
learned a lot as well as for the many projects given to us)," she said.
"Gipalit
namo bugas, sud-an, ug unsa among kinahanglanon (We bought rice, grocery, and
other essential items)," Galban said when asked how she spent the
hard-earned money she got from the KALAHI-CIDSS’ CFW.
Challenge
ahead
Mahayahay
barangay chief Mario Magsanay challenged the residents to continue their
monthly Bayanihan-Pahina activity.
“Ang atong
goberno adunay kahinangawa nga mo-angat gyud ang atong komunidad sama sa
kalimpyo, kalinaw. Kining pagpanghinlo kada adlaw ni. Dili kay manghinlo ta
kung dunay activity. Mao ma nay sakit sa Pilipino, kung naay bisita, abtik
dayun manghinlo (The government really has a goal to raise the standard of
living of everyone including the community in terms of cleanliness and peace.
Cleaning is a daily chore. We should be cleaning our surroundings even if there
is no activity and not just if there are visitors in our barangay),” he said.
“Ang KALAHI nakatabang gyud kanato. Simple ra nga trabaho nato, sweldohan ta. Ato gyud ning padayunon. Atong ipakita sa taga-KALAHI nga ang project wala na kawang. Ato ning ipadayon kada buwan. Mao na akong challenge sa inyo mga kaigsuonan: manghinlo gyud ta (KALAHI has really helped us. We were given cash in exchange for a simple work. We should continue this activity every month. Let us show to the KALAHI staff that the [cash-for-work] project didn’t go to waste. Thus, this is my challenge to you: we should clean our village regularly),” the village leader told residents of Barangay Mahayahay. (DSWD-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
