“Nindot og magpadayon kini ingon ani nga activity (It would be nice if this type of activity could continue),” said Creselda Genio, a participant in the Livelihood Assistance Grants program from Clarin, Bohol, when asked for her feedback on the Dunong Forum she attended.

Creselda is one of the 133 program participants from Central Visayas invited to participate in the three-day Dunong Forum that took place in different areas in the provinces of Bohol, Cebu, and Negros Oriental.

Dunong is a Tagalog term that translates to knowledge. The Dunong Forum focuses on sharing knowledge, expertise, skills, and experiences, especially in managing and handling enterprises.

Speakers from different organizations and schools were also invited to discuss the following topics: Leadership with Community Contexts, Dealing with Conflict, Entrepreneurial Mind Setting and Attributes in Today’s World, Marketing Strategies: Improving Customer Handling Skills and Pricing Strategies, Sales Marketing in the Digital Era, Basic Accounting for Beginners, How to Reach Financial Freedom and Security, Introduction to Profit Sharing, and Crafting a Profit Sharing Plan. These topics are relevant to enhancing the skills of the program participants.

Creselda shared her hesitations at first, when she got the invitation, “nagduhaduha jud ko og attend, kay ang ako basin maulawan rako ba, basin dinagkoay na ang uban sa ilang negosyo (I was hesitant to attend because I might feel embarrassed; you know, maybe others already have big businesses compared to mine).”

“Sa pag ari nako daghan kaayo kog gi andam na pangutana aron ma validate nako kung ang among gibuhat sa among assosasyon insakto ba (When I came here, I prepared a lot of questions to validate if what we do in our association is correct),” says Geraldine Paypa, treasurer of the Olandao Nagkahiusa SLPA, of Basay, Negros Oriental.

Geraldine added that “Makatabang kaayo ni namo sa among negosyo ug amo usab kini i share ngadto sa among kauban (This is a huge help to our business, and we will definitely share it with them).” Geraldine added that the speakers provided true-to-life examples that they can relate to and learned a lot from.

In addition to the topics discussed, the program participants were also allowed to share their practices and experiences with the other participants through mock interviews initiated by the project development officers in the province.

At the end of the forum, the attendees expressed gratitude for the opportunity to grow their enterprises. They hoped for similar activities in the future to continue building their knowledge and skills. ###

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