TABUK CITY, Kalinga – Two livelihood projects in Sitio Binongsay, in Brgy. Malin-awa, funded under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Cordillera office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-CAR) were opened today.
These are the Agila and Sacat organizations, which both granted ₱514,000 assistance for the establishment of their proposed enterprise which are mini grocery with burger and fried chicken stand, and farm inputs, poultry products and liquified petroleum gas, respectively.
These beneficiary associations, with 26 members each, are the first recipients of the SLP’s livelihood grant this year.
Partners from DSWD-CAR and the City Social Welfare and Development Office, who offered technical assistance during the project preparation and completion of necessary documents to facilitate the release of assistance, were present during the blessing of the enterprises and their business launch.
Social Welfare and Development-Kalinga OIC team leader Marle Legman was also present and stated that the SLP, as a program that builds capacity, is on the right track to assist more families and individuals in obtaining a source of income by offering employment assistance and capital seed funds for microenterprises.
Representing City Mayor Darwin Estrañero, Napoleon Ayang-ang expressed gratitude to the DSWD-CAR for extending two livelihood projects in Binongsay, stating that these initiatives will enhance the members’ financial standing. He urged the Agila and Sacat organizations’ members to apply the knowledge they had gained about small business management to ensure the success and sustainability of their selected initiative.
The SLP is being implemented through a two-track program with the first track, the Microenterprise Development Tract, supporting micro enterprises in becoming organizationally and economically viable; and the second track, the Employment Facilitation Track, assisting participants to access appropriate employment opportunities. By Darwin S. Serion