Students in Brgy. Maliksi III can now safely walk to school and are no longer needed to be placed in basins and rushed through the waters of Manila Bay to reach the town proper. The elevated bamboo footbridge constructed by the community under the Kalahi-CIDSS program provided these children a safer and convenient travel to school.

 

 

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Bridging the gap towards stronger community

Barangay Maliksi III in Bacoor City, Cavite is a small community lying in the coastal area of Manila Bay. Blessed with the bounty of freshwater, the residents mainly get their source of income through shellfish farming. They have built elevated shanties near their pens, around 10 feet high from the waters, to secure their livelihood.

In order to easily transport pails of harvested shellfish to the market, the residents created makeshift footbridges connecting the community to the town proper. However, the footbridge was easily destroyed by high tides and strong winds as it was only constructed with light materials.

Having damaged and shaky footbridge exposed the community in great danger as they needed to leap between the spaces of broken bridges or cross using the remaining narrow lumbers. One incident that really bothered them is the death of a child, who fell from the hole of the bridge and drowned. The residents longed for a safe and stable footbridge, hence, they proposed the bamboo footbridge project when Kalahi-CIDSS arrived in the community.

“Ngayon, hindi na kailangang bumaba at lumangoy ng mga magulang sa tubig habang nakasakay ang mga anak nila sa batya. Mas madali na rin naming nalalabas ang mga produkto dahil may ligtas at matibay na kaming nalalakaran,” affirmed Rhodora Decano, 30, one of the Kalahi-CIDSS volunteers who canvassed and procured for the materials used in the bamboo footbridge project.

Kalahi-CIDSS program or Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services aims to provide poor communities with better access to basic services while empowering them to get involved with the project implementation. One of its partners, the Japan Social Development Fund, which focuses on improving the state of urban poor communities, funded the bamboo footbridge project amounting to Php705,000.00, including local counterpart contribution.

Rhodora shared that at first, the residents were hesitant to accept Kalahi-CIDSS in their community. They were wary that the program is just like the other agencies and organizations, expressing to help but will not pursue in the end.

“Pero iba kasi ang Kalahi. Talagang iniinvolve kami sa bawat aspeto ng proyekto mula sa pagpaplano, pagka-canvass at paggawa. Nang makita ng barangay ang ganitong sistema, marami na ang tumulong. Dahil dito, masasabi kong bumalik na ang tiwala ng barangay sa mga ganitong proyekto ng gobyerno,” Rhodora said.

As part of the Procurement Team, Rhodora remembered how hard it was going places to look for a supplier that offers quality materials yet at lower cost. She and the rest of the team needed to walk for hours enduring the heat of the sun as they don’t have money for transportation.

“Nakakapagod pero wala naman po kaming ibang maaasahan kundi ang bawat isa. Bilang mga volunteers, ginagawa lang namin ang trabaho namin para sa proyekto at para sa komunidad,” Rhodora strongly said.

With the cooperative endeavors of Rhodora and 32 other volunteers, Brgy. Maliksi III was able to construct the 394.30 meters long bamboo footbridge, serving a total of 86 households.

For half a year now, Rhodora proudly shared that the footbridge had endured the tides and the strong winds. It even helped the residents to easily evacuate when needed. And most importantly, children can now freely play around without the fear of having another terrible accident.

Rhodora also added that even the project is already done, the spirit of bayanihan remained in the community. Their trust to government programs was rekindled as they are becoming more active in barangay activities. They are actually looking forward for another community project and are excited again to work together and serve the community.

“Bukod sa pisikal na proyektong nabuo dahil sa tulong ng Kalahi-CIDSS, alam kong nabuo rin ang pagkakaisa at pagtutulungan dito sa Maliksi III. Iyon ang aming magiging puhunan para paunlarin pa ang aming barangay,” Rhodora ended.