By night, she is a balut vendor, selling duck eggs until the wee hours of night. By day, she is an active member of her community, serving as one of its leaders to help ensure that their village moves toward development.
This has been the routine of Jorivic Bautista, a resident of Barangay Dangay, Roxas, Oriental Mindoro, since Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) entered their village.
According to Jorivic, the reason why she chose to become actively involved in Kalahi-CIDSS is simple: the Project gives power to the community, from identifying what their most urgent needs are and how to address these, to developing the solutions to these concerns.
“Nasayahan po talaga ako du’n sa Participatory Situational Analysis (PSA). Akala ko noon madali lang sabihin kung ano ang talagang kailangan, pero talaga pa lang kailangan na alamin muna ang pinakapuno ba niya, ‘yung mismong ugat ng problema. Madami po talaga akong natutunan doon sa gawain naming iyon ,” said Jorivic.
Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the government’s primary poverty reduction programs implemented through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). A community-driven development (CDD) project, it highlights the participation of each individual in identifying their needs, even in the implementation of the sub-project they have identified, as well as in overseeing its operations and maintenance.
Jorivic shared that she finds joy in attending and participating in various activities of any kind of project that is implemented in their barangay.
“Lahat sinasalihan ko, kahit ‘yung mga orientation sa munisipyo. Marami na akong nadaluhan na orientation seminarsa mga kooperatiba, sa Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), at sa Malampaya Foundation ”, she said, her eyes twinkling.
She added, “Kumukuha ako ng ideya kung paano magpatakbo ng negosyo, kaya talagang nagpupunta ako ‘pag may mga orientation ang mga kooperatiba .”
More than the satisfaction she gets by attending said activities, she said that she is interested in finding out the ideals and advocacies of any project that enters the municipality.
Her passion to learn was equally driven by her want to apply the various ideas and learnings in her life led her to volunteer in Kalahi-CIDSS.
Despite her active involvement in Kalahi-CIDSS, she still continued selling balut at night. She admitted that doing both was tiring, but she needed to earn money for her family, even as she saw the need for her to help her community.
Her active participation in the Project led to her fellow residents voting for her as head of the Project Preparation Team (PPT), a committee under the sub-project management team of the barangay.
“Nakita naman ng mga kasamahan ko na pursigido ako sa mga gawain kaya ako ay kanilang binoto sa posisyon na iyon ,” said Jorivic.
With Jovic’s leadership, the community identified the construction of a two-storey technical vocational school building in their barangay, as they saw that it was the most effective solution to support the increasing number of out-of-school youths in the area. The school building will cater not only the barangay of Dangay, but also the other barangays in Roxas, and even neighboring municipalities, which means a lot of youths – and families – will be able to benefit from their school sub-project.
Jorivic said that many youths in their community opt not to go to college because most parents cannot afford to send their children to college. Even those who started studying in private schools were forced to stop in the middle of the school year because their families cannot sustain their transportation and allowance expenses. Most parents in the barangay do not have a steady income as they rely on fishing and farming, which are also seasonal jobs. Making both ends meet for them is a daily struggle, more so if they need to support the schooling of their children.
Jorivic shared her family’s own struggles with providing for the education of her children.
“Dalawa na sa mga anak ko ang nakatapos ng kolehiyo. Sadyang napakalaki ng gastos namin noon. maliit lang ang kita namin. Ang asawa ko ay nangingisda tapos ako, nagbebenta ng balut. Hindi namin alam kung saan kukunin ang panggastos. Kaya alam ko ang hirap ng mga magulang na mapag-aral ang anak sa kolehiyo. Ayaw man nila patigilin pero kinakailangan dahil kulang talaga sa kita ”, Jorivic said.
The residents know that the construction of the technical vocational school building will help lessen the number of out-of-school youths and the rate of unemployment in the barangay. It will also address the need for a quality education and ultimately, help provide economic opportunities to those who will finish the course.
Jorivic said that the construction of the school building will provide support to the local community college, especially since it offers courses such as electronics and bookkeeping, which will be offered in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), with certification and accreditation from the agency.
Jorivic shared that she hopes the school will help many students to find better jobs, abroad or local, after they have finished their education.
Jorivic’s participation in Kalahi-CIDSS taught her that she, along with her community volunteers, has the capacity to turn things around for their village.
“Sobrang tuwa ko talaga dahil mauumpisahan na ang among proyekto, na ang lahat ng paghihirap naming mga volunteer ay unti-unti nang nababawi. Magandang umpisa ito para sa lahat sa amin hindi lang dito sa Brgy. Dangay kundi sa buong Roxas. Kaya namin ang pagbabago ,” Jorivic said, with tears in her eyes.
She also expressed her thanks for the Kalahi-CIDSS Area Coordinating Team (ACT) and the barangay local government unit for supporting them in their venture.
She said, “Saludo ako sa mga aming opisyal sa barangay dahil kasama namin sila sa proseso at hindi kami pinabayaan. Lalo na ang ACT sa patuloy na pagtulong at gabay. Natagalan man ito pero sulit din ang pagod at paghihintay dahil nakita ko ang effort ng lahat para lamang ito ay mapatupad .”
While two of Jorivic’s children have finished schooling, she still has four others who have yet to enter college. With a smile, she shared that she is excited that her children now have the option to enter the technical vocational school and choose which of its various courses most appeals to them so they can pursue their own professions. ###
