The Department of Social Welfare and Development committed to support the ‘Pamayanihan’ Project for victims of Typhoon Pablo recently launched by Operation Compassion International Inc., in New Bataan, Compostela Valley.
The event was spearheaded by Operation Compassion Chairperson Cielito F. Habito and graced by New Bataan Mayor Lorenzo Balbin; Assistant Secretary Rolando L. Cucio, Office for Political Affairs of the Office of the President; and Richard Año, Department of Agriculture (DA) FO XI’s focal person for the Support to Emergency and Livelihood Assistance Program (SELAP).
Family-victims of typhoon ‘Pablo’ in New Bataan were represented by their community leaders in witnessing the launching.
The ‘Pamayanihan’ project is a food sufficiency program intended to help typhoon ‘Pablo’ victims in their journey towards building a climate resilient rural community and securing food. Under the project, beneficiary-families are taught how to plant vegetables and other crops so they could have a year round harvest for their daily food needs.
More than 200 families will benefit from this project, including those families currently residing in the DSWD bunkhouses.
Raquel E. Nuñez, DSWD Disaster Operations Focal Person for Comval, said that the 72 families living in the bunkhouses located at the DSWD Temporary Shelter Site in Barangay Cabinuangan, New Bataan are initial beneficiaries of the project.
She added “the families will be taught in crops-planting and will be provided with seedlings to help them start their backyard garden.”
According to Dr. Habito, ‘Pamayanihan,’ even though the project is initiated in New Bataan, Operation Compassion plans to eventually reach other disaster-stricken areas as well.
Año also expressed his support for the project and provided 50 bags of various vegetable and fruit seedlings to the beneficiaries. The fruit seedlings like the mangosteen and durian will be planted near riverbanks.
In his message, Melencio Ilajas, Chairperson of the DSWD New Bataan Survivor Community Garden Group, said, “Nagpapasalamat kami at narito ang iba’t-ibang ahensiya ng gobyerno upang tumulong sa amin. Dahil sa proyekto, marami kaming natutunan na bagong pamamaraan sa pagtatanim na simple at naaayon sa kasalukuyan naming kapaligiran (We are thankful as the different government agencies are here to help us. Through this project, we learned new and simple ways to plant which are suitable to our environment).”
He added that they are now able to cultivate even rocky plots and plant vegetables in improvised pots like kawayan.
“Lubos ang aming pasasalamat kasi naturuan din kami ng proyekto na hindi pala dapat umasa na lang sa mga bigay, dahil darating ang panahon na matitigil din yun. Tinuruan kaming mag-bayanihan lalo sa pagpapatag ng tatanimang lupa (We are grateful as this project taught us that it is wrong to just wait for goods provided to us. The project taught us to help each other, especially in cultivating the available land),” added Rosita Camafranca, leader of the Garden of Love Group.
Nuñez said DSWD will also assist in project monitoring particularly to those participants who are bunkhouse occupants and Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries. “In its Family Development Sessions for Pantawid Pamilya grantees, DSWD likewise underscores topics on Value Formation, Household Management, Food Sufficiency and the like which would greatly contribute in project management and sustainability for ‘Pamayanihan.’ In this project, DSWD has also tapped the involvement of the youth in the area,” Nuñez added. (DSWD-XI)
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