Engineers find alternative for community projects

CEBU, Philippines -  Engineers from different towns in Negros Oriental gathered at the Hotel Elizabeth in Cebu City recently for a training on Construction Safety and Health for Site Safety organized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 7

The training was organized to support the ongoing implementation of various small-scale infrastructure projects undertaken by the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan - Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) in the said province.
The activity was funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a funding agency created by the United States congress for development pursuits. The same funding agency is also currently financing the implementation of the Kalahi-CIDSS Project in the Central Visayas particularly in areas in Negros Oriental.
Engr. Ronilo Gauma, Regional Infrastructure Assistant of DSWD-7, emphasized the importance of the safety training. "Actual situations and procedures were presented to avoid accidents in the sites. The system on 'tool box meeting,' wherein workers are reminded of their roles and are assessed if they were physically and mentally fit to work, was also introduced".
One project has been completed in March and turned over to the community while 55 others are still being undertaken in different towns in Negros Oriental. These projects include farm-to-market roads, water systems, footbridges, educational and health facilities, irrigation systems, solar driers and rainwater harvesters, all determined and prioritized as urgent needs by the communities themselves.
Gauma said despite the projects being small-scale, safety remains a top priority, considering that about 60 percent of accidents accounted for every year are from construction of elevated projects.
"The talk of safety is not only necessary in big-scale projects. It should also be discussed even in small-scale projects like Kalahi-CIDSS," Gauma said. Every worker must have three things during construction - a standard helmet, harness, and boots, rubberized or steel toed.
DSWD Assistant Regional Director Nemia Antipala herself reminded the engineers of their critical role in the development of communities.
"As social engineers, your role is not only to provide technical expertise in constructing infrastructure facilities but also to create opportunities for communities to maximise their potentials and resources to drive the development process," she said.
Communities of Kalahi-CIDSS are encouraged to construct their projects themselves not only to lessen project cost but also to maximise their expertise instead of hiring another service provider to do the job, thereby generating employment in the barangay. This basically taps the creative potentials among the barangay folks to make use of local aggregates such as wood, rocks and sand for their projects.
The communities in Negros Oriental are expected to finish their projects by the end of June this year. Most of the community projects are done through the "bayanihan" scheme. /JMO (FREEMAN)