For the 3^rd Quarter of 2014 alone, the Department of Social Welfare and Development had organized a total of 68 livelihood groups, known as Self Employment Assistance Kaunlaran Associations (SKAs), in the CALABARZON Region.

The said associations were organized under the Sustainable Livelihood Program of the Department.  The program aims to build the capacity of identified beneficiaries to engage in micro-enterprise activities or to benefit to employment facilitation and enable them to earn additional income for their families.

Based on the report of DSWD Field Office IV-A, the 36 of the associations organized are from Quezon Province, 24 from Cavite and 8 from Laguna.  Of the 68 SKAs organized, 34 were already provided capital assistance which enables them to begin their respective micro-enterprise activities (34 from Quezon, 6 from Cavite and 6 from Laguna).

Quezon Province, which is considered as the poorest province in the region, has the most number of organized SKAs as it is given priority for the implementation of all poverty alleviation programs of the Department.

A total of Php6,487,000.00 had been utilized for the organizing, capability building and provision of capital assistance to the said groups for the period.  Among the micro-enterprise activities that the associations engage into are food processing, trade and commerce (buy and sell of goods), manufacturing, crops, and livestock.

For the provinces of Rizal and Batangas, the organization of SKAs is still on-going.with reports from DKTanedo***