BONTOC, Mountain Province – The provincial government through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) initiated an awarding and giving of aid to the child development workers in recognition to their dedication in giving care and early education to children on November 29, 2017.
Dubbed as ‘second parents’, the child development workers were acknowledged for their commitment to teaching day care children in their respective child development centers, formerly called Day Care Center (DCC), despite the different challenges encountered.
Workers who served for 20 years and beyond were given Certificates of Recognition and cash incentives. 42 awardees were selected from the different centers of the municipalities: Barlig has five awardees, Bauko with six, Bontoc with five, Besao with seven, Natonin with four, Paracelis with six, Sabangan with two, Sadanga with three and another four from Tadian. Those who reached 20-25 years in service received a cash incentive of Php 2,000 and Php 5,000 for 29-30 years while those who made it to 31-35 years were given Php 7, 000.
Ana C. Chumawar, a child development worker who teaches for 35 years up to the present, shared her experiences to inspire her colleagues to strive hard amidst the difficulties attached to their vocation. In 1982, she started taking the challenge with optimism even without a promising support during the time that Poblacion, Bontoc has the only child development center. She experienced being transferred in the nearby communities to share her knowledge in managing a center.
“The hardship in teaching and taking care of the children should not hinder us from serving. Instead, let us be patient and be supportive for their education,” Chumawar encouraged.
She believed that every child development worker has a story to share, reiterating that they are the educators and “the star” by their learners.
Meanwhile, in his day-eng, Vice Governor Francis O. Tauli graced the convention highlighting the vital roles of the workers which he defined as “serbisyong totoo” for their efforts in handling the children to grow and learn.
“Indeed, you are the committed teachers to the young ones and the agents to the progress of your communities,” Tauli remarked.
The Vice Governor also stated that despite some lacking needs in the centers, the workers remained resilient and resourceful to meet the other necessities with their capabilities.
“The communities value your contributions as individuals with the ability to deliver care, promote education and positive values to the young ones,” he stressed.
In addition, Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan Jr., emphasized that taking the role of being teachers at the same time parents to a larger group of children in the classroom is not an easy task.
He added that their efforts are not in vain as they are, “part of the success of the children in the future” for laying a good foundation of learning to the young ones.
The governor acknowledged the sacrifices of the workers to do their roles without expecting a material compensation in return to their sweats and efforts. “However, you will always be remembered by those you cared and taught. Remember, they are your immeasurable reward. I believe you are all happy for the dreams of the children they once told you,” he said.
Earlier in the event, the awardees were given incentives that served as simple tokens which according to Lacwasan, “is not enough to give for the hard-working educators and parents of the next generation.”
Meanwhile, all the workers were given aid as part of the “Bayan Muna” program of the provincial government apart from the incentives given to the awardees mentioned earlier. The aid which amounts to P 2,000 in the previous has increased to P 2, 800 this year. Meanwhile, T-shirts were hoped to be distributed as additional uniforms for the workers.
On the other hand, the news curriculum of the National Early Child Care Development (ECCD) were discussed to orient and update the workers with the guidelines they should follow in teaching. They were also given an assessment tool for the granting of recognition to child development centers that offers early childhood programs to children from zero to eight years old.
By Rose D. Dagupen
