Brgy. Matacla, Goa, Cam. Sur – One could trace on his face the marks of courage despite physical limitations. His hands are adorned by calluses wrought by hard labor. But even though his wrinkled smile marks his struggles, deep gratitude still stands out.

Elmer Obias, 47 of Goa, Camarines Sur is an active community volunteer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under Kapit Bisig Laban Sa Kahirapan Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services National Community Driven Development Program (KALAHI CIDSS NCDDP) for two years now.

Obias who was elected as Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee Chairman of the project in his village at Matacla, said that at first his disability was a major challenge for him to lead the project because some does not believe and trust him. However, he added that never once did he consider it as an obstacle.

“There are some who scoffed at me for being in this project. They said, ‘Why would you get that man with disability?’ Their mockery was demoralizing but I took it as a challenge and I had to prove them wrong,” he said.

The Legacy Project

Nonetheless, the community leader showed his perseverance and courage in presenting his project proposal for Barangay Matacla and convened his village folks through barangay assembly for the approval of the 126 square meter two-room school building in MES. He was able to gather 25 volunteers from his village.

“With the increasing number of student population in our elementary school, we have agreed that additional classrooms are highly needed for our children who are studying here. These classrooms can also serve as evacuation center in times of calamities,” he said.
According to Jezzyl Credo, Community Empowerment Facilitator of DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS, Obias is very dedicated, hardworking and an effective community leader.

“He would always share during assemblies that it is his dream to leave a legacy – the aspiration to give back to all the help he was bestowed with in his lifetime,” shared Credo.

Considering his daily grind as the main provider for his family, she narrated that as the BSPMC Chairman, Obias calls for a monthly regular meeting for the updates and other concerns on their project.

“Meetings were usually held at the second floor of the municipal building or barangay hall, so he would crawl up the stairs to reach the place just to be present during meetings,” she added.

The new classrooms amounting to 1.6 million started in 2015 and the first KALAHI-CIDSS project granted to Brgy. Matacla, the village that fostered Obias’s family for the past years.

Obias told Inquirer, “This project will show that government project like this exists and is not a bogus one. I tried and just ventured on it to be able to prove that it can be materialized.”

According to Arnel B. Garcia, DSWD V Regional Director, Kalahi-CIDSS is a DSWD program that seeks to help alleviate poverty through community-driven development (CDD) in which it puts the power back in the hands of the people by giving them the opportunity to make informed decisions on locally identified options for development and manage resources to implement sub-projects that address needs identified by communities themselves.

There are 101 poor municipalities in Bicol under its expansion from 2014 to 2019 with a total of grant of Php4,497,448,178, Jessesshan Aycocho, DSWD spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Marife Swing, a grade school teacher for 6 years now in MES expressed her gratitude for the nearly-built classrooms intended for Grade 6 pupils.

“We are looking forward for this classroom because the old ones are not well-lighted. Aside from it, these rooms have toilets,” Swing said.

Challenges

Sometimes, others would find it hard to believe how Obias is able to do many things. A man skilled in carpentry, he was able to put up a house for his family by himself. Even the improvised pushcart which he uses to run around different places is a result of his skill. Not once did he ever believes his crippled legs a hindrance in helping his community.

“I was two years old then when I fell on a slippery mossy path. I was bed-ridden for days due to high fever and hip fracture. But the temporary paralysis did not get any better,” he narrated.

He continued that around the time that he was bed-ridden, Polio was rampant in the Philippines. A remote village that was lacking in medical facilities, vaccination for young children was almost impossible.

Hence, at a young age, Obias was crippled for life by polio.

Nevertheless, despite hindrances, he struggled to finish school. He completed elementary in Matacla Elementary School and continued on to secondary in Partido State College in Goa, Camarines Sur.

“I was determined to acquire a college degree so I became a self-supporting student who sold Groiler’s Book of Knowledge Encyclopedia for Children,” he shared while fixing his improvised pushcart which he uses to run around different places.

In 1996, he received his diploma for a four-year course in Business Administration at the University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City.

He admitted that it was difficult for him to land a permanent job because of the idea that he does not fit the standards of society. He shifted from job after job until he was offered the chance to serve at the provincial capitol as a job order employee in 2003.

“I worked at the capitol of Camarines Sur for six years but did not stay long because I was not regularized. Besides, it does not pay well,” Obias told the Inquirer.

Meanwhile, he has five children; four of them are studying: a 16-year-old in Grade 10; a 15-year-old in Grade 8; a 13-year-old in Grade 7; and an 11-year-old in Grade 4. His 19-year-old eldest son braved his chance in Manila and is now working as a trucking employee in order to help their family.

Further, Obias family is a recipient of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of DSWD. It is the government’s conditional cash transfer grants for the poorest of the poor families.

Through this, his family receives PHP3,600 or 3,200 every after two months depending on the conditionality compliance to the program.
His wife on the other hand, who works as a maid in San Jose, neighboring town of Goa earns PHP3,000 per month.

Currently, Obias family used a portion of the cash grant as a capital money to start a small livelihood. He buys different kinds of seasonings like pepper, garlic, onions, alum, and chlorine; he and his children helps together to repack it and Elmer delivers it to stores from Barangay Mabalud-balud to nearby villages like Salvacion.

He said that with the aid of the improvised pushcart, he reaches nearby villages and sometimes rides the jeepney when he has to transport a bulk of repacked items.

“I sell the repacked items for one peso each. From a starting capital of P250, I take home as much as P500 on days when income is good, while as little as P100-150 when it’s slow,” he added.

“We combine our earnings to meet all our needs,” he added.

Opportunities

More things await Obias as he carries out his duty as a father to his five children and a responsible member to his community.

He said it is a colorful experience to be a community volunteer. Each tick of time becomes meaningful. Just when he thought helping was a far-off dream, he was offered many chances to paint colors to his prayer of giving inspiration to others here and now.

He considered it a gift to be part of the volunteers at Simon of Cyrene Community Rehabilitation and Development Foundation, Inc., an organization based in Tigaon, Cam. Sur. Through the group, Obias was able to learn how to make prosthetic legs and even improve on his people skills.

Currently, he is regularly invited as a speaker and trainer of differently-abled persons at Simon of Cyrene.

Of all times, he also does not forget to remind the most important thing—to share.

“You need to share. Never skimp on what you know or what you have. If they also know something, they will share it, too, because you have served as their example. It is in sharing that motivation begins,” he said.

All things considered, helping will not make him any richer and in fact, will only add to his responsibilities. But in his point of view, the calluses that will develop in his hands are still part of the golden dregs of service – for others and his community.

“When you spent years sharing yourself with others, volunteering sincerely, simple words of appreciation like ‘thank you’ make it all worth it,” he concluded.#JVEG/RSMO/DSWDKalahi-CIDSS
—
About DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS

Kalahi-CIDSS- Kapit- Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) is a DSWD program that seeks to help alleviate poverty through community-driven development (CDD).

The operations of the community-driven development (CDD) approach expanded into a national scale, which was tried and proven effective by DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS. There are 101 poor municipalities in Bicol under its expansion from 2014 to 2019 with a total of grant of Php4,497,448,178.

Community-driven development (CDD) puts power back in the hands of the people by giving them the opportunity to make informed decisions on locally identified options for development and manage resources to implement sub-projects that address needs identified by communities themselves.

For more details about DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS, follow this link:
http://ncddp.dswd.gov.ph/site/faqs