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Santa Fe, one of the three municipalities situated in the Bantayan islands of Cebu province, is a recipient of disaster-response projects from DSWD’s program for poverty reduction, the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS).

Balidbid Punong Barangay Madelyn C. Rayco leads the ceremonial ribbon cutting of their community sub-project.

Pre-pandemic, this island municipality was a destination for both local and foreign tourists with its long stretches of sandy beaches, resorts, and ports that welcomed both air and sea travelers. However, with the travel restrictions imposed by local government units due to the pandemic, Santa Fe struggled to get back on its feet.

With KALAHI-CIDSS’ focusing on helping communities augment local resources to effectively manage the pandemic and address its ill effects on the people, Santa Fe is slowly getting back to its track in welcoming tourists with their newly-completed projects from the program.

Six mainland barangays, namely, Poblacion, Maricaban, Okoy, Pooc, Talisay, and Balidbid, the lead barangay, received the municipal isolation facility with amenities through the participation of volunteers that helped in the implementation of the program.

In his welcome message, Santa Fe Municipal Mayor Ithamar P. Espinosa thanked the implementing barangays and community volunteers for working hard to complete the projects provided by DSWD through KALAHI-CIDSS. “It is our privilege as Santafehanons that we have a good municipal isolation facility wherein we will become ready to combat COVID,” Espinosa said.

All the barangays involved in the implementation of the project provided their contributions either through cash or in-kind. Although KALAHI-CIDSS downloaded community grants to the communities of Santa Fe, the local counterpart contribution, or LCC, is their commitment to realize the partnership between KALAHI-CIDSS and the LGU to bring pandemic-response projects to the communities in need.

Meanwhile, young members of the community are remarkably active in the implementation of projects in Santa Fe. This is what Barangay Captain of Balidbid Madelyn C. Rayco advocates since her career in local governance started from being a community volunteer for KALAHI-CIDSS way back in 2015.

“Saksi ko sa tinuod nga tumong sa KALAHI-CIDSS nga ang mga imprastraktura kay kabahin lamang sa pinaka-importante nga tuyo niini sa atong mga komunidad kundi ang pag-empower sa katawhan (I am a witness to the true objective of KALAHI-CIDSS that infrastructure projects are just part of its purpose to the communities but rather the empowerment of the people),” shared Rayco.

During her speech, Rayco echoed that becoming a volunteer has catapulted her to many opportunities, including her post as chief of Brgy. Balidbid. She even recalled how the training and workshops of the program had transformed her to become the leader that she is today.

Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) of Barangay Balidbid takes an oath as primary responsible in keeping the isolation facility functional and sustainable.

Rayco said that one can learn from the many activities that KALAHI-CIDSS organizes in the community and that she urged everyone to make sure that the learnings must be carried out. “Isip usa ka boluntir, ang mga nakat-unan nako sa KALAHI naghatag kanako og inspirasyon nga pwede diay ko mahimong opisyal sa akong komunidad kung andam lang ko nga mohatag sa akong kaugalingon pinaagi sa pagpanerbisyo (As a volunteer, what I learned from KALAHI-CIDSS gave me inspiration that I can become a leader in my community if I am willing to give myself through public service),” she enthused.

Now that she is a community chief, Madelyn Rayco believes that she is a result of the partnership between LGU Santa Fe and DSWD’s KALAHI-CIDSS. She even calls for everyone to have a ‘helping spirit’, an advocacy that she wants the youth to become active in community organizing.

Rayco’s advocacy to organize the youth in her community also resulted in the empowerment of some. In fact, her niece, Jessalyn Caraballe, is the head of the Barangay Development Council-Technical Working Group (BDC-TWG) of Balidbid during the implementation of the KALAHI-CIDSS isolation facility project in Santa Fe.

The BDC-TWG head, during her sharing of experience, expressed that she hopes to follow in the footsteps of her aunt. “Nasabtan nako ang tumong sa KALAHI-CIDSS ug dako ang epekto niini ngadto sa kabataan sama kanako kay tungod sa mga kasinatian ug kaalam nga among nakuha, pwedeng namong magamit isip miyembro sa komunidad (I understand the goal of KALAHI-CIDSS and it has a great impact on the youth like me because we can make use of the experience and knowledge we have gained from the program),” said Caraballe while highlighting the importance of volunteerism among the youth.

With declining incidents of COVID, communities in Santa Fe believe that it is important to be proactive and not be complacent. Through these newly-turned over projects, they are confident that they will win against the pandemic by using the facility as an infirmary or a rural hospital to be operated by its BHERTs or the Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTs) so that more people will have access to public health care. ###

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