Citing the active participation of partner-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the ‘PaskuJuan Bazaar 2014: Salu-Salo sa Pagbabago’ over the weekend, at the Araneta Center, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said that the poor can actually become instrumental of their own development.
This was evident when these families joined the first nationwide bazaar where they sold the products which they produced using the capital assistance provided by DSWD through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
SLP is a community-based capacity building program that seeks to improve the socio-economic status of beneficiaries. It is implemented through the Community-Driven Enterprise Development (CDED) approach, which engages beneficiaries to actively contribute to production and labor markets by making use of available resources and accessible markets.
The program aims to enable the beneficiaries to manage sustainable micro-enterprises or link them to locally available jobs that will enhance their access to basic social services and improve their standard of living.
Gloria Humiwat, 41, a beneficiary of Pantawid Pamilya for two years now, from Loakan, Baguio City said, “Laking pasasalamat ko sa DSWD dahil dito sa bazaar na ito nabigyan kami ng pagkakataon na maibenta ang aming mga produkto. Sana po meron ulit ganito sa susunod na taon at sana ay mas mahaba ang araw (We thank the DSWD for this bazaar because it gave us the opportunity to sell our products. We hope that this will be conducted again next year and hopefully, too, that it will be longer).”
Evelyn Cafon, 39, from Lambahak, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, shared, “Magmula noong naging benepisaryo kami ng Pantawid Pamilya noong 2011 hanggang naging SLP beneficiaries kami, hindi namin naramdaman na pinabayaan kami ng DSWD. Ngayon, tumutulong pa rin sila at dahil sa bazaar na ito ay malaking tulong at oportunidad na dumami ang aming customer (Since we became beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya in 2011 and eventually SLP, DSWD has not stopped helping us. With this bazaar, we had the chance to expand our market).”
In her message during the program, Sec. Soliman said, “Ang presensiya ng mga benepisyaryo dito ngayon ay patunay na sila ay hindi lamang umaasa sa binibigay ng gobyerno kundi sila mismo ay nagsisikap iangat ang kanilang buhay mula sa kaunting tulong na naibigay ng gobyerno (The presence of the partner-beneficiaries here is proof that they are not dependent on government aid alone but they exert their best effort to improve their lives).”
Sec. Soliman added that the goal of the bazaar was to help Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries who are also SLP beneficiaries market their products.
Sec. Soliman and DSWD development partners led shoppers in patronizing the products of the beneficiaries.
One of the highlights the festival was the talent competition of Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries.
In her closing message, SLP Director Georgina Ann H. Hernandez said that with the success of the activity, DSWD intends to hold a yearly bazaar to provide a permanent venue to market the products of the beneficiaries. The PaskuJuan Bazaar was held simultaneously in various venues nationwide.
For all those interested to buy the products and help the beneficiaries achieve self-sufficiency, they may coordinate with the SLP office at (02) 951-2806 or send an email to slp_group@dswd.gov. ph. ###
