Diomedisa Muaña feeds her family by selling rice cakes and working as a barangay health worker in her community. As a single mother with five mouths to feed, her meager income would not be enough.

At 51, Jomy, as she is fondly called by her friends, never stopped looking for other sources to fend for the children until she found the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), a capacity-building program of the governement implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

She said in jest that before, she could not even afford to change her toothbrush every three months, let alone pamper herself because she was financially challenged. Before, she could only buy rice by kilo.

But now, she can already afford to have her toothbrush changed, buy some products for self-care, and pamper herself.

“Maka-afford nako og palit og usa ka sakong bugas (I can now afford to buy a sack of rice),” declared Jomy.

“All this happened when I got my share of the profit from our Campisong Upland Farmers’ Livelihood Association Sari-Sari store,” Jomy said in dialect.

“My first share was Php 1,200. It may not be big, but it adds up to my income, and it is something. No one will give you this amount, and all I have to do is share my time and effort for our store; I did not even shell out any money for this,” Jomy shared in dialect.

Jomy is one of the 40 active members of the Campisong Upland Farmers Livelihood Association, who religiously tended their store, aiming for the betterment of the community and everyone’s lives through their flourishing sari-sari store. She is also the association’s auditor.

The association made a lot of effort in the community. It ensures that all the needs of the community are catered to by their store. They also changed their locations, from a secluded one to the community center, and made their buidling bigger for the additional merchandise like feeds, school supplies, and farm produce of the members, as the association also buys the produce of their members.

“Sa among community, nakatabang usab kini kay duol nalang sila og mapalitan dili na moadto sa Poblacion, makaginansya paming mga membro kung daghan ang mopalit sa among tindahan (Our store has helped our community because the residents can now buy the things they need from the store. They need not go to the Poblacion anymore. Our store also earns from the community),” Jomy expressed.

This has paved the way for a gradual change in the residents’ daily lives.

According to Jomy, the program and the association have greatly helped her cope with the hardship that she encountered as a solo parent, trying to meet the needs of her five children.

Jomy appreciated the chance that the SLP had given her. For her, it greatly impacted her financially and emotionally. She added that the program boosted her confidence and helped her enriched her bookkeeping knowledge. The SLP staff has molded her into a better finance officer of the association because of the regular technical assistance they have provided.

The beneficiaries, including Jomy, were thankful to the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) for the opportunity to improve their lives and for changing their outlook in life. The Php 400,000 start-up capital from the program has created an impact on their lives “where could we find this amount without the help of SLP,” said Jomy in dialect.

The association started its operation in 2018 as the Campisong Upland Farmer’s Livelihood Association; now, it is registered with DOLE and changed its name to Campisong Ginatilan Vendor’s Association.

The main objective of SLP is to improve the socio-economic capacity of the participants through a micro-enterprise development and employment facilitation program that will ultimately provide a sustainable income source. Through its training and technical assistance provided to the association, it also teaches the beneficiaries the importance of self-care.

The story of Jomy is one of the manifestations of a beneficiary whose life was improved by the Sustainable Livelihood Program. ###

(466) Views