BONTOC, Mountain Province – Home care volunteers for senior citizens from the municipalities of Bontoc, Sagada, and Sabangan undergone a two-day knowledge enhancement seminar.
The said activity was held at the Provincial Capitol on April 29 and 30, 2025 through the collective effort of the Provincial Government through its Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office – Senior Citizens Center and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through its Home Care Support Services for Senior Citizens (HCSSC) Program.
The HCSSC, as introduced by Project Development Officer III Angie T. Sorano, is a community-based program of the DSWD that aims to provide quality health care for the sick, frail, and bedridden senior citizens in their own homes through their family or kinship carers and homecare volunteers. Moreover, the project ensures that older people, their families, and community promote health and harmonious family relationships and take effective steps to provide care and protection to the sick, frail and bedridden, disabled, abandoned, and neglected senior citizens.
The primary beneficiaries of the HCSSC Program are individuals aging 60 years old and above who are frail, sick, bedridden or with disability and those in need of care for a certain period of time due to physical and mental conditions. In addition, the secondary beneficiaries include family carers who lack skills or capacity to provide quality care to senior citizens and home care volunteers who are willing to share their time, skills, and resources to care for the abandoned, neglected, frail, and disabled senior citizens.
During the opening program, Provincial Administrator John K. Likigan, on behalf of the Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan Jr., extended his gratitude to the DSWD for being the frontline partner of the Provincial Government in delivering and improving social services to the public. He acknowledged the DSWD’s critical role in delivering and enhancing essential social services that directly benefit the people, particularly the most vulnerable sectors of society.
Meanwhile, the two-day seminar was comprised of seven topics, which were discussed by Sorano and Social Welfare Officers II Creselda A. Bucad, Merly L. De Guzman, and Novelyn C. Licyay from the DSWD-Cordillera Administrative Region. These topics include the project overview of the HCSSC Project; ageing and elderly abuse; case management of sick, frail, and bedridden senior citizens; common ailments and conditions of older people; proper communication with elders, volunteerism, and caregiver tips and stress management; importance of emergency planning for vulnerable older adults; and coping with grief, loss, and dying senior citizens.
In response, Rhoda Besay, one of the participants and also the President of Sagada Barangay Health Workers Federation expressed her appreciation to the organizers of the activity and highlighted her take away learnings.
“Adu ti nasuru mi dituy. Nu mabalin kuma ket na am-amowan mi kuma idi paylang. Ngem I know nga haan paylang nga naladaw tatta nga gundaway nga umayan mi nga ag adal, agsipud ta adu ngay ti inputs nga inted piman dagituy da facilitators mi kasla iti proper communication para kadagituy da elderly, kas ano nga i manage mo iti panag asikasum kada kuwa da, kas anom nga a develop iti relationship mo iti elderly even the family tapnu ti ikasta ket mabalin nga maited da met ti talek da kanka akas maysa nga volunteer nga mang aywan kadagiti senior citizens ken amin dagituy da elderly,” she said.
“Iti PLGU ken dagituy da nga nang facilitate iti daytuy nga seminar, i ebkas mi unay ti panag yaman mi, iti nalaos nga panag yaman mi, nasipud nga napanunut da nga nang i conduct iti daytuy nga seminar,” she added. By MP-PIO
