OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN. Lucban Mayor Celso Dator (right), DSWD IV-A Regional Director Leticia Diokno (center) and Southern Luzon State University Director of Extension Services Lourdes Quevada (left) sign the Memorandum of Agreement for the tripartite partnership towards helping the mother-grantees of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in Lucban, Quezon Province. The said agreement formalizes SLSU’s Programang Pangkababaihan para sa Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (2Ps para sa 4Ps), which provides capacity building, values education and livelihood training such as baking, accessory-making and organic farming to beneficiaries to help them towards self-sufficiency. In the background are mother-grantees of the Pantawid Pamilya program from the said town who are all grateful to the said partnership.
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Livelihood opportunities await Pantawid mother-beneficiaries of Lucban
The local government unit of Lucban in Quezon Province and the Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) in the said town signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) last April 27, 2015. This tripartite partnership aims to help improve the lives of poor families in the municipality, particularly the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
The said partnership formalizes the SLSU’s Programang Pangkababaihan para sa Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (2Ps para sa 4Ps), which provides capacity building, values education, entrepreneurial and livelihood trainings for Pantawid mother-grantees. Even prior to the signing of the MOA, the SLSU has already provided various livelihood opportunities such as training on baking, organic farming and accessory-making to selected beneficiaries of the program.
To date, there are 627 Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in Lucban.
“Magtutulungan ang tatlong ahensya para patuloy na makapagbigay ng mga oportunidad sa ating mga benepisyaryo para magkaroon ng kakayahan na makapaghanapbuhay at tulungan silang tumayo sa sarili nilang mga paa,” shared DSWD IV-A Regional Director Leticia Diokno.
The local government unit represented by Mayor Celso Dator and the SLSU, which was represented by President Cecilia Gascon and Director of Extension Services Lourdes Quevada, point out that the three institutions have a common goal of improving the quality of life of the beneficiaries, which pushed them into entering in this agreement.
“Ang partnership na ito ay para sa kapakinabangan ng mga mamamayan. Hindi lahat ng tulong sa mahihirap ay kayang ibigay ng iisang ahensya, kaya kami ay laging nakikipag-ugnayan sa iba’t ibang ahensya katulad ng SLSU at DSWD para maiahon ang mga pamilya sa kahirapan,” shared Mayor Dator.
Arlene Langbid, a Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary from Brgy. Samil in the said town, shared how the trainings from SLSU helps her in supporting her seven children.
“Tinuruan kami na gumawa ng iba’t ibang klaseng accessories at iyon ay nagagamit ko para magkaroon ng dagdag kita para sa aming pamilya. Pagkauwi ko mula sa aking trabaho sa restaurant, gumagawa na ako ng accessories na aking binebenta,” Arlene shared.
In the MOA, the SLSU will provide the necessary livelihood trainings for the beneficiaries while the DSWD and the LGU will provide technical, financial and other assistance necessary for the conduct of the said trainings. The MOA also makes the SLSU a partner of the DSWD in the implementation of the program, especially in the conduct of Family Development Sessions for the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya program.