Helen Lorilla is motivated to help others.

“Ang serbisyo, long life; ang kwarta madali mawara (service lasts for lifetime while money perishes instantly), she said.

As a mother of seven children and an owner of an upholstery shop in Balinad, Daraga, she still manages to apportion a part of her time as a volunteer in their community.

She is an experienced volunteer and recently became part of the Project Preparation Team (PPT) who is responsible for the preparation of project proposal for the concreting and improvement of their 70 meters footbridge which will be constructed through Kalahi-CIDSS this year.

Helen who resides in Purok 8 was discouraged by her neighbors to quit as a volunteer because they told her that the footbridge is far from their house. She just ignored their comments and explained to them that they belong to the same community and will directly benefit from it.

“Sabi ko, pawno kamo makaibong sa tulay kung baha, kaya di na kamo mawri san ta kami nganing pinakapuroon oh, pero gusto ming makatabang dito. (I told them that they cannot cross the bridge if it’s flooded. We will help even if the project is far from us),” she said.

She disregarded what the nitpickers said and focused on how she can furnish assistance to their village. Helen exerted effort to participate in the trainings and seminars required by Kalahi-CIDSS from its elected volunteers.

She is grateful for the capacity building opportunities she is receiving because her skills and knowledge are enhanced. She is looking forward to the training this May. Thus, she can provide relevant inputs and suggestions that can influence the decisions of the majority for the betterment of their community.

Helen pledges her full support and dedication to their project because she feels that they are directly involved in the whole process of Kalahi-CIDSS implementation.

“Magayon ang Kalahi-CIDSS ta residente talaga ang mapadalagan ning proyekto. Ang barangay officials ang ma oversee samun (Kalahi-CIDSS is good because the residents run the project while the barangay officials supervise us),” she said.

On the other hand, Helen and her husband are also very thankful to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program because aside from the meager income from their business, the grants they receive from the program give their children a decent life and education.

Kalahi-CIDSSis a DSWD program that seeks to help alleviate poverty through community-driven development (CDD).

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

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.