Residents of Brgy. Paliparan III in Dasmariñas City, Cavite Province now have a community center for their skills and livelihood trainings and activities. The said sub-project was constructed through the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The community center, with a total project cost of PhP837,398.68, is funded by the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF), one of the Kalahi-CIDSS’ development partners, that aims to improve people’s access to small-scale livelihood opportunities in urban poor communities.

During the center’s inauguration ceremony last August 10, 2015, the community volunteers shared their joy of having the sub-project in their community.

“Ang lahat po ay may pagkakataon nang maka-attend sa mga pa-livelihood trainings ng barangay at hindi na kailangang mamasahe pa ng malayo papuntang sentro dahil may sarili na kaming pasilidad dito. Salamat po sa Kalahi dahil natuto kaming magtulungan para matugunan ang problema ng barangay,” shared 34-year-old Charina David, one of the 28 community volunteers who implemented the community center sub-project.

Following the Kalahi-CIDSS’ community-driven development (CDD) strategy, the community volunteers of Brgy. Paliparan III were involved in the planning process and trained on proposal development, construction estimates, community finance and procurement to gain skills in managing the project implementation.

Guadalupe Del Moro, Kalahi-CIDSS Project Coordinator for the CALABARZON Region, recognized the efforts of the community volunteers in working together towards the improvement of their community.

“Sana’y gamitin n’yo pa ang mga kaalaman na natutunan n’yo sa Kalahi para magsagawa pa ng pangkaunlarang proyekto dito sa inyong barangay. Maraming salamat po sa inyong pagtutulungan at pakikiisa na paunlarin ang inyong komunidad,” said Del Moro in her message to the community volunteers.

Aside from this community center, there are six other infrastructure sub-projects completed in urban communities across Cavite and Laguna Province through the Kalahi-CIDSS JSDF. Among these are health stations, line canals, pathways, and day care centers, which are provided with a total grant of PhP5.02 Million.

The Kalahi-CIDSS is a poverty reduction program implemented by the DSWD that aims to improve the delivery of social services in poor communities by engaging ordinary citizens in the local development process. In the CALABARZON region, Kalahi-CIDSS JSDF sub-projects are being implemented since 2010.#