DSWD-7 Opens ‘PaskuJuan’, Launches “Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago” Social Media Accounts

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)7 on Sunday held the first ever ‘PaskuJuan: Salu-Salo sa Pagbabago’ festival. The program includes a bazaar where Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and PantawidPamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries showcased their products at White Gold Club, North Reclamation Area.

The whole day simultaneous event was highlighted by the presentation of products crafted by SLP beneficiaries and other centers and institutions of the Department. A Christmas Show also featured DSWD beneficiaries, and the center-based children’s choirs.

Over 30 concessionaires are expected to showcase different merchandise and food items this Sunday perfect for gifts and orders this Yuletide season.

The agency also hosted livelihood demonstration presentations to the public. “This is still part of the livelihood initiatives under the SLP which empowers poor families by equipping them with livelihood skills to achieve self-sufficiency,” said DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman.

The DSWD, through the SLP, provides livelihood skills training and capital to empower and help improve the quality of life of the beneficiaries. This is also the Department’s response to the public’s call to “teach them to fish rather than just providing the fish.”

“We encourage the public to do your Christmas shopping in the Bazaar. By patronizing their products, you will be helping our beneficiaries move closer to their dreams of achieving self-sufficiency,” Sec. Soliman added.

The SLP is a community-based capacity building program that seeks to improve the socio-economic status of program participants. It is implemented through the Community-Driven Enterprise Development (CDED) approach, which engages program participants to actively contribute to production and labor markets by making use of available resources and accessible markets. The program aims to enable beneficiaries to manage sustainable micro-enterprises or link them to locally available jobs that will enhance their access to basic social services and improve their standard of living.

On the same occasion, the ‘Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago’ official social media accounts was also launched to gather and share stories of positive change from the beneficiaries, workers, partners, and even the public.

The ‘Kaya Ko ang Pagbabago’ is an information and empowerment campaign that aims to communicate the change (pagbabago) the Department’s beneficiaries experience through its programs and services, particularly the PantawidPamilya.

Anecdotes, statements, blogs, videos and photos that reflect the positive changes brought about by PantawidPamilya in the lives of the beneficiaries can be shared and found at the Facebook page fb.com/KayaKoPH and the Twitter account @KayaKoPH.

Partners and stakeholders can also share their thoughts and experiences in implementing the program.

“What we usually hear about the program are criticisms of from people who really do not know much about how it works. With this campaign, we hope to bring out the benefits of the program, as manifested by these stories of pagbabago. We want to amplify the voices of our beneficiaries, our partners, and our workers,” said DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman.

The PantawidPamilya, the Philippine Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), is a human development program that invests in the health and education of children aged 0-18.

It utilizes the CCT scheme where the beneficiaries receive cash grant provided that they send their children to school, get preventive health check-up, and the parents attend the monthly Family Development Session (FDS).

The FDS is a unique component of the PantawidPamilya. Through it, parents and or guardians learn how to respect and care for each of the members of their family. Topics discussed include effective parenting, husband and wife relationships, child development, laws affecting the Filipino family, gender and development, and home management.

Through the FDS, parents are empowered and informed of their rights as individuals as well as their obligations that they need to fulfill not only as husband and wife but also as parents.

“We hope that with the launching of these social media accounts, the public will be able to understand and appreciate the program better,” Sec. Soliman stated. (DSWD 7)