A vision is a worthy achievement if it is accomplished through diligence and hard work compared to a goal attained with shortcuts or the absence of commitment.

Cerconsecion Escorel, 28, a community volunteer of Barangay Jagna-an in San Jacinto, Masbate shared her sacrifice in achieving their goal of improved access from their community to the municipality’s población.

“Nahihirapan kaming tahakin ang aming daan tuwing luluwas kami papunta sa aming bayan dahil sa napakalubak ng aming daan tuwing tag-init at madulas naman kung tag-ulan (There’s a difficulty when traveling to the municipal main district because the road is rock-strewn during the humid season while slippery during the rainy season),” Escorel said.

For Manilyn Lique, 26, a resident of Barangay Jagna-an, she recounted her struggles when she was still a student.

“Noon na nagaaral ako, grabe ang sakripisyo namin makapunta lang sa paaralan dahil hanggang tuhod yung putik sa daanan (When I was a student, I have struggled a lot when going to school because of the knee-high mud covering the trail),” Lique shared.

With the community’s drive to solve this problem, the project was funded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services through the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum – Participatory Resource Allocation (MIBF-PRA).

The MIBF-PRA is an activity in the DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS’ Community Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC) wherein projects are funded based on the criteria set by the communities.

THE KEY TO OPENING THE DOOR

According to Escorel, they have struggled on achieving the requirements of the program particularly the 80% participation rate for the attendance to barangay assemblies because of the difficulty of encouraging the community members to attend the gathering.

The volunteer compared her struggles on community participation to that of a closed door.

“Sobrang hirap mangatok ng pinto upang ipaliwanag sa kanila ang kahalagahan ng proyekto hangga’t hindi nila nakikita ang resulta hindi ka nila pagbubuksan (It’s really tough to knock on someone’s door to explain the importance of the project because they won’t open unless they see the results first),” she recalled.

Escorel and her fellow volunteers did their best to ensure that the pathway project materialized from the planning stage until its turnover to the community.

There came a point when they would help in carrying gravel to the site for lack of construction workers.

“Kailangan ipakita mo sa kanila na hindi ka lang basta nagsasalita. (You have to show them that you are not just good at words but more in action),” the volunteer added.

But like any other projects, the community has also dealt with problems. One of the issues encountered was the hurdle on the delivery of materials needed for the construction due to unworkable weather conditions that affected the access going to the barangay.

To solve this, the volunteers maintained constant communication with the supplier as well as lobbied to the local government unit (LGU) to provide boulder fills to be dumped on the trail so that the truck can deliver the construction materials to the barangay.

Escorel explained to the people that there are processes to follow to be able to receive assistance from the government.

“Kung gusto talaga natin na magkaroon ng pagbabago at magandang kinabukasan para sa susunod na henerasyon, kailangan na magkaisa tayo (If we really want change and a bright future for the next generation, we need to unite),” Escorel advised. /ramsertan/

About DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS

Masbate implemented DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS in 20 municipalities with a total implementation grant of Php318,763,838.75 and local counterpart contribution of Php 22,956,632.29 from barangay and municipal local government units (LGUs) to fund community-managed sub-projects.

DSWD allocated San Jacinto with Php 44,758,400.00 and local counterpart contribution of Php 2,627,049.00.

Barangay Jagna-an has two (2) completed community projects from different modalities that benefitted 112 households.

Below is the list of the sub-projects according to its fund source:

For more details about DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS, follow this link:

http://ncddp.dswd.gov.ph/site/faqs