Rofa Mae Halina, an Out of School Youth from Barangay Tagdu, Mambajao, Camiguin, now owns here very own Homemade Longganisa business after completing a technical course on Food Processing, offered by 1 AND ALL Technical School through the support of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Sustainable Livelihood Program.

Being the eldest child, Rofa Mae has to sacrifice her studies for her two younger siblings and work harder in order to support their family, after her father became sickly and weak.

“Dagku gyud ang akong pasalamat sa DSWD ug sa 1 AND ALL Technical School tungod kay usa ko sa mga natagaan ani nga training, labi na gyud kay gitagaan pa ko og gamit pangakabuhayan human sa among graduation (I am really thankful to DSWD and 1 AND ALL Technical School for the opportunity they have given me as one of the recipient of this training apart from the start-up kit they have provided us after graduation)”, says Rofa Mae. “Maningkamot gyud ko nga mapalambo ning akong gamay nga negosyo alang-alang sa akong pamilya (I will do my best to improve my business for the benefit of my family)”, she avows.

The Sustainable Livelihood Program is a multi-stakeholder program of the department that aims to improve the standard of living of poor households by facilitating opportunities for development and management of resources viable for micro-enterprises, community empowerment through skills training and employment facilitation. It gives significant priority to the youth being the hope of the future generation, similar to the 1 AND ALL Technical School whose mission, is to develop responsible and effective citizens to make significant contribution to the workforce that would eventually improve the livelihood of every community.

Written by Jamila M. Taha, DSWD