Construction is predominantly a men’s world. With the physical strength required to perform tedious tasks, women are usually out of the equation. But, under the Kalahi-CIDSS program, it isn’t true anymore.***

Regina San Agustin, 43, and Lucila Pustrado, 49, are only two women who prove that there are no limits as to what they can do for their families. The world may see it is a man’s job, but they see it as an opportunity to provide for their children and help their respective communities.

Both women are engaged in the construction of a farm-to-market road project in their barangay in Ilayang Kinagunan in the town of Agdangan, Quezon Province. This is a 1.78 km. long road, what their community sees as their most pressing need. The project amounts to P3.140M jointly funded by the community, the local government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).

The Kalahi-CIDSS helps empower poor communities, reduce poverty and improve local governance through providing infrastructure and facility projects. The program also promotes women empowerment by providing them an avenue for improvement of knowledge and skills where they can exercise their potentials not only at home but also in the community. In Kalahi-CIDSS, a total of 30 percent of women in a community are engaged in construction activities, providing them temporary jobs during the construction of the project.

Regina used to earn P1,500 monthly through farming and selling charcoal.

“But sometimes I don’t earn at all, that is why I grabbed the opportunity in our community and joined in the construction so that at least I get to earn P220 per day,” she said.

With her earnings, she shared she is now able to afford more food such as rice, meat and vegetables, much more than what they get before,” she shared.

She added that although the job is just temporary, it helps her family a lot.

Meanwhile, Lucila gets to use what she earns from being involved in the construction for her children’s education. According to her, she has saved enough for the enrollment of her two kids.

Besides their earnings, Lucila and Regina are also proud of being able to do a man’s work such as mixing cement and carrying sacks of gravel. Such is a hard task, but they are both glad they now know how to mix cement, properly identify construction materials and measure the right volume of materials required for the project.

Even before the construction of the road, the two women were already active volunteers of the Kalahi-CIDSS. Along with other residents, they were provided with capability trainings along procurement, finance, operations and maintenance, and handling grievances for proper project management.

“Being a volunteer of Kalahi-CIDSS, I was also able to learn how to canvass construction materials and monitor the progress of our project,” Regina shared.

But what drives these two women in engaging in this project aside from the money and empowerment they get? As what Lucila said, it is about helping complete a project that will greatly improve our community.

With the new road functional today, both women are proud that they have been part of its construction. It gives them fulfillment that the new road makes transporting of the residents’ farm products like coconut, bananas, vegetables and other crops to the town proper easier and faster.

“Its path is also wider, which makes it easy for vehicles to access our community,” Regina added.

Moreover, children are also now able to ride tricycles or motorcycles rather than walking for several hours just to go to school. Residents who suffer from illness are now able to go to the health center with ease.

Through Regina’s and Lucila’s experiences, they have proven themselves and their community that women deserve equal opportunities to men.

“We are thankful that we are able to participate in this project as it helped us improve ourselves and our family. Also, we are proud that we are able to prove that we can do everything if we only believe in our capabilities,” Regina stated.***