Payatas folks get help from Estrada Fund

Some 500 scavengers of the open pit dumpsite in Payatas, Quezon City are the direct beneficiaries of the waste trading center project launched recently by the Effective Response to Alleviate Poverty (ERAP) Trust Fund in partnership with the Pusong Makabayan Foundation, Inc., a non-government organization in an effort to provide these poor households with better incomes.

This was announced by the ERAP Trust Fund Executive Director, Jose Escartin, who said that the P1 million project will be owned and operated by the scavengers themselves who have been organized into a cooperative and trained on basic project management.

The trading center is expected to get rid of middlemen in the area who are profiting much from the junkshop business by buying wares at very low prices. This project will enable the scavengers to become buyers themselves of the various waste materials and sell them directly to recycling firms at much higher prices. As cooperative members, the scavengers will benefit from the gains of the center. They are assured of protective gear for scavenging, social security and dividends for their capital share.

Escartin said the ERAP Trust Fund, which is attached to the Land Bank of the Philippines, works closely with non-government organizations for the implementation of the project. While it provides the P1 million funds, the Pusong Makabayan Foundation (PMFI) acts as the fund conduit in the delivery of livelihood loans to the beneficiaries. The Alyansa ng Maralita sa Payatas Estate (AMPAT) co-manages the project with PMFI, and International Teams Philippines conducts the capability-building program for the beneficiaries.

Aside from this waste trading project for urban slum dwellers, Escartin said that ERAP Trust Fund also has implemented projects for the agrarian reform beneficiaries, youth and the informal sector in partnership with other government and non-government agencies.