DSWD7 Invites Everyone to Shop at PaskuJuan

Now on its second year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will again celebrate ‘PaskuJuan: Sama-Sama sa Landas ng Pag-ulad’ festival and bazaar.

The partner-beneficiaries Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program will showcase and sell their products during this activity on November 29, (Sunday) at White Gold Club, North Reclamation Area.

This whole day simultaneous event will be highlighted by a bazaar showcasing the products crafted by beneficiaries of SLP together with other centers and institutions of the Department. There will also be a Christmas Show featuring DSWD beneficiaries, and the center-based children’s choirs.

About 30 concessionaires are expected to showcase different merchandise, gift and food items this Sunday perfect for orders this Yuletide season.

The event will also showcase livelihood demonstrations and presentations, which are open to the public.

Last year, the event was able to sell some P150, 000 worth of items that directly helped DSWD’s partner-beneficiaries in the region.
“We are inviting everyone to come and visit PaskuJuan and help our partner-beneficiaries by buying their products,” said Mercedita P. Jabagat, DSWD7 regional director.

PaskuJuan is a yearly project of the DSWD to help Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries, who are also being provided with livelihood assistance through SLP, market their products.

“The success of PaskuJuan last year prompted us to institutionalize it as a yearly activity. It is one way of helping the beneficiaries market their products to the public,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said.

“If you buy their products, then you are also helping them earn for their family,” Sec. Soliman continued as she enjoined the public to do their holiday shopping at the bazaar.

SLP is a community-based capacity building program that seeks to improve the socio-economic status of program participants or the beneficiaries. It is implemented through two tracks: Micro-enterprise Development and Employment Facilitation.

The Micro-enterprise Development track supports micro-enterprises in becoming organizationally and economically viable, whereas the Employment Facilitation track assists participants to access appropriate employment opportunities.

Both tracks are executed based on the Community-Driven Enterprise Development (CDED) approach, which equips program participants to actively contribute to production and labor markets by looking at available resources and accessible markets.

From January 2011 to October 2015, SLP served a total of 851,505 families wherein 87 percent or 740,665 are Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries and 13 percent or 110,840 are non-Pantawid Pamilya  assessed as poor through the Listahanan or data base of poor families. (Phoebe Jen Indino- Pantawid Pamilya Information Officer)