Empowering residents and communities

For so long now, our people and communities have been struggling to go beyond poverty. As discussed in an earlier column, minimum needs are unmet and sustainable livelihood worsening.

Countless anti-poverty schemes and projects have also been initiated and implemented. The end result, sadly, remains the same. Millions of our people all throughout our country remain poor.

How can we get beyond poverty?

Several former poor have been able to get themselves out of their poverty so it is not true that once poor, one is forever poor. Perhaps there are valuable lessons we can get from the former poor who have been able to lift themselves out of poverty. Have we ever listened to them? Have they been consulted to advise the remaining poor about how to empower themselves beyond poverty?

Several poor communities, both urban and rural, have also been able to lift their areas beyond poverty. Those in San Francisco, Camotes come to mind. Mayor Al Arquillano successfully encouraged the sitio residents to collaborate together, to assess together their common resources and strengths and weaknesses, to decide together on what are doable together, to enable all residents in their communities to sustainably and safely live where they are. The key term is unity - BAYANIHAN.. Walang iwanan, everyone's welfare is everyone's responsibility. Another key factor is to rely solely on available resources within the community, among the residents of the community. No dependence, no mendicancy. Self-reliance plus Bayanihan = self sufficiency and protective environment. Another key factor is they grouped themselves by themselves and proceeded to discuss, assess, decide, cooperate TOGETHER.

In real terms, this means every sitio started with a simple household inventory- who lives where and their household profile, names, number of members, age, employment and civil status, type of employment, with disabilities, housing condition ( with water supply, toilets) , housing and land ownership, and more data.

The names of each household is posted outside for easy identification. This system allows the sitio to know exactly who their members are, the actual situation of each member (in terms of education, employment and other welfare needs) and the sitio profile allows them to follow up the needs of each household within the sitio on a regular basis as the household profile is easily updated during their regular meetings.

The sitio members are required to attend regular weekly and monthly meetings and are also expected to give some monthly contribution as sitio common fund. That will be P100 per household per month in the case of Purok Igot in San Francisco, Camotes. Then the local government of Sir Al gives a counterpart amount as seed money for the whole sitio to use for productive livelihood projects which are decided on by the sitio members, together. Such projects may include producing more vegetable items for household consumption and the extra, to be sold or that can also be an organic banana chip project for the women where bananas abound and where there are skilled cooks for making delicious banana chips! Again, the key here is for the sitio residents to assess for and by themselves what resources and skills they already have and how they can enhance these skills and resources TOGETHER as their sustainable livelihood. Please note that we are not using the term JOB at all. Livelihood has a far deeper meaning than jobs. And the rural folks in San Francisco are smiling each day because they have what they need on a sustainable basis. They have very clean and beautiful and safe environment as well.