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CFW beneficiaries in Loon, Bohol receive their pay in exchange for helping set-up tents as temporary shelters for families outside evacuation centers.
CFW beneficiaries in Loon, Bohol receive their pay in exchange for helping set-up tents as temporary shelters for families outside evacuation centers.

After the devastation brought by the 7.2- magnitude earthquake which hit Bohol   on October 15,  Loon, one of the hardest-hit towns is now rebuilding itself through the Cash-for-Work (CFW) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

According to DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman, the CFW is a temporary intervention for families during a disaster.  It enables the heads of  affected households to earn a living for their daily needs by participating in community work such as clearing roads and canals of debris, helping set-up community kitchen,  and maintaining cleanliness in evacuation centers, among others.

For the CFW in Loon,  a total of 381 family heads from barangays  Son-ong, Cabadug, Bas Daku, Cuasi and Tang-nan helped install  the 473 tents given by the DSWD for families who choose to camp-out in their own backyard instead of staying in evacuation centers.  They were paid P200 per day.   DSWD released P94,000.00 for this project.

“By providing affected families with a source of income while recovering from the impact of  the disaster,  they regain some dignity and self-esteem,” Secretary Soliman explained.

“Pag linog, wala gyuy haligi nahabilin. Luoy kayo akong pamati sa akong kaugalingon kay manghanyo ko ug silingan nga makisilong sa ilang tulda ug maghuwat ko ug hinabang para makaka-on  (No post was left standing when my house fell during the quake. For a while I felt so helpless because I had to ask neighbors to allow us to stay in their tents and have to wait for dole outs to eat),” said Anastasio Soler, 60, of Barangay Bas Daku.

Installing the tent with the assistance of DSWD engineers made  Anastasio feel better.

“Sa akong katiguwangon nakat-on ko unsaon pagtaud sa akong kaugalingong tulda, ug nakatabang pa gyud ko sa akong mga silingan. Ang 200 pesos nga suhol nakapa-amgo nako nga puede di pa ulahi ang tanan, puede pa ko mutrabaho ug angay nang mangsikay-sikay para maka hinay-hinay ko ug Bangor (In my old age, I learned to put up a tent. The P200 daily wage that I received made me realize that I can still work and rebuild my life),” Anastasio narrated.

For Anastacio and the rest of the people of Loon, all is not lost, believing that there is hope amid disaster. The CFW is a welcome and much needed intervention, for it bears the message of work, hope and rebuilding. ###