CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Social Welfare and Development has partnered with non-government organization Kabisig ng Kalahi and two private corporations to sustain a feeding program that targets malnourished pre-school students.
Unilever Philippines and Mead Johnson Nutritionals will fund the hot meals and milk provisions to children three to six years old selected based on data gathered by DSWD’s “Operation Timbang.”
The program, which started in 2008, has already reached out to 780 beneficiaries in the towns of Calape, Dagohoy and Buenavista in Bohol; Cebu City and Compostela in Cebu, as well as the town of Amlan in Negros Oriental.
Funds amounting to P52,000 have been given to parent organizations for every 30 beneficiaries for the purchase of ingredients, fuel, and 117 kilos of milk.
The parents of children were also organized into committees to handle the program overseen by village volunteers composed mostly of Day Care Workers, Barangay Nutrition Scholars and Barangay Health Workers.
This supplemental feeding program will run for 156 days, Mondays to Fridays, during which beneficiaries will be provided with a hot meal and milk during lunchtime, which is targeted to provide for 1/3 of the recommended energy and nutrient intake needed by the children.
Aside from the two corporate partners, DSWD also tapped the help of government officials like Fifth District Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano VI who pledged to share part of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to implement the program in his district.
The DSWD program will complement the Early Childhood and Care Development (ECCD) program of the provincial government, which will provide milk and a hot meal to pre-school children. Capitol’s initiative will primarily cover the remaining areas in Compostela, which have not been included in DSWD’s supplemental feeding program.
Present during the program launch were Board Member Agnes Magpale, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officers Marivic Garces (Cebu) and Carmelita Tecson (Bohol), Glenda Pua of Kabisig ng Kalahi, DSWD-7 Nutritionist Dietician Melinda Canares, members of the Provincial Nutrition Committee, local officials from target municipalities and barangays and some day care parents. (FREEMAN NEWS)