The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be launching two of its gender knowledge products at the Kalahi-CIDSS NPMO Building at the DSWD Complex in Batasan, Quezon City on March 26, 2013 at 5:00 p.m., in time for the Women’s Month.

Bannering the theme, “Kapangyarihan ng Kababaihan Laban sa Kahirapan ,” the activity will feature testimonials of the men and women from the two gender pilot sites of Kalahi-CIDSS, Torrijos in Marinduque and Madalag in Aklan, who experienced changed lives through their attendance of gender sensitivity trainings from the project.

One of the products to be launched is the Kalahi-CIDSS Gender Toolkit, which is an instructional guide for field workers on how they will be able to integrate the principles and practices of gender and development (GAD) in their line of work, particularly in dealing with beneficiaries, local government units (LGUs), and other stakeholders. The second product is entitled “Bridging Gender Differences: Stories of Empowerment of Men and Women in Kalahi-CIDSS”, a collection of 10 narratives from the two pilot gender sites.

The cocktail event launching will be graced by DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Executive Director Matthew Bohn.

Other highlight in the said event includes an art exhibit featuring gender-themed paintings of local artists. This will run from Monday until Wednesday.

Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the three core poverty alleviation programs of the DSWD. In the last year, it has piloted the integration of GAD in community organizing and facilitation, in line with its gender mainstreaming initiative.

Kalahi-CIDSS is currently gearing up for the nationalization of the community-driven development (CDD) approach, the strategy it uses for poverty alleviation. Dubbed the National Community-Driven Development Program (NCDDP), this will cover 15 regions from 12.  The NCDDP will also feature enhancements of Kalahi-CIDSS’ systems, including the integration of sectoral protection systems for gender, disaster risk reduction and management, and indigenous peoples. ###