Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian meets New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Kell and representatives of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines during a courtesy visit at the DSWD Central Office on Friday (November 10).

The ambassador and other guests presented to Sec. Gatchalian an overview of a project that they have designed for indigenous peoples dubbed “Indigenous Women and Children Leadership and Economic Empowerment in Ancestral Domains (I-LEAD).”

The meeting was aimed at determining the existing DSWD programs and services that can be integrated to the I-LEAD project and implemented in the IP communities.

The I-LEAD project will focus on economic empowerment of the indigenous peoples (IPs), especially the women and children.

Present during the visit were UNDP Philippines Deputy Executive Director Edwin Carrie; UNDP Analyst Maria Theresa Yap; I-LEAD Project Design Team Leader Edna Maguigad; NCIP Director Dahlia Dait-Cawed; and New Zealand Aid Manager Dyan Rodriguez. #