As part of the thrust of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the agency in the region continues to provide social protection to vulnerable and marginalized sectors in society as well as capacity building to help improve their socio-economic well-being.
In the town of Poro in Camotes Island, Cebu, an association composed of all beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in barangay Mercedes was formed to avail of the seed capital fund (SCF) through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) in the year 2017.
“Kaming tanan sa among grupo membro sa Pantawid ug ang among mga panginabuhian mao ang pag-uma, pagpangisda, ug pag-negosyo og ginagmay (All of us in the group are Pantawid beneficiaries and our means of income are farming, fishing and engaging in micro-enterprises),” said the association’s President Celso Calesa.
Dubbed as Mercedes Egg Production SLPA, the group has 101 Pantawid Pamilya members and they were granted almost a million pesos that year as start-up capital for their poultry enterprise.
Through the program, the poultry farm started to operate with 336 egg-laying chickens last December 2018 and has peaked in producing 11-12 egg trays a day.
“Kini among gibuhi nga manok nidagan na hapit duha ka tuig. Unya among plano nga amo nang ibaligya unya magpalit og bag-o (These chicken have been laying eggs for two years already and we are planning to sell them for us to buy new brood of egg-laying chickens),” said Calesa.
He added his co-SLPA members hope to improve their poultry farm to have more earnings for their association.
Currently, the poultry farm produces six to seven trays a day and earns around thirty thousand pesos a month.
“Sa wala pa ang COVID-19, magmeeting gayud kami kada buwan aron makabalo ang mga membro sa mga nagasto ug pila ang sobra ug aron pud makabalo sila og pila ang nadeposito namo sa bangko (Before COVID-19, we conduct meeting every month so our members would be informed of our expenses, balances and bank deposits),” Calesa explained how the association’s transaction kept transparent.
Moreover, Calesa said that the association helped unleash the spirit of Bayanihan not just during this pandemic but even from the start when they just started with their poultry.
He added that a slice of their income from the poultry had been shared to the members during the enhanced community quarantine, to kilos of rice and canned goods.
“Nalipay ra pod ang mga miyembro namo kay nakatabang panahon sa krisis (We are happy that it helped our members during this crisis),” shared Calesa.
Calesa echoed their association’s gratitude to the DSWD, giving them grants and guidance in building their enterprise and hope that the members’ good relationship with each other shall nourish and last long. ###
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