Nearly 200 students and recent graduates of Magsaysay College received their wages Wednesday after completing a 25-day cash-for-work program implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Northern Mindanao (DSWD-10).
The 189 beneficiaries were paid 461 pesos a day, the regional minimum wage, for work performed at various government offices during the program. Participants were selected based on financial need, with priority given to students facing economic hardship.
The initiative is carried out under the Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay project, part of DSWD’s long-running Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services program, known as KALAHI-CIDSS, which funds community-driven projects nationwide.
“This program was designed not as a dole-out, but as a bridge — a bridge that allowed our beneficiaries to earn while they continued to pursue their education, or as they took their first steps into the world of work after graduation,” DSWD-10 Regional Director Glofelia J. Uayan said in a statement read by KALAHI-CIDSS personnel Zosimo G. Butil at a culmination ceremony and payout held Wednesday.
The program was carried out jointly by the municipal government of Magsaysay and Magsaysay College, a higher education institution the local government manages.
Shalaku L. Uba, chairperson of the municipal council’s education committee, urged beneficiaries to finish their studies, saying in Cebuano that the assistance was meant to be temporary.
“Ang KALAHI-CIDSS usa ka programang talagsaon nga niabot sa atong lungsod. Kini temporary lang nga tabang sa inyo. Akong challenge sa inyo, paghuman kamo sa inyong pag-eskwela aron kada bulan, kung makatrabaho kamo, dunay madawat ninyo,” Uba said. (“KALAHI-CIDSS is a unique opportunity that has reached our town. This is only temporary aid for you. My challenge to you is to finish your education so that every month, once you find work, you will have income of your own.”)
Angelita Ansin, one of the beneficiaries, said the program had given participants skills and experience they could carry into future jobs.
“Dako gyud kaayog tabang ang cash-for-work. Daghan tag na learn, mga nagkalain-laing experience na magamit nato kung asa ta puhon dad-on sa opportunity sa atong pagpanarbaho,” Ansin said in Cebuano. (“The cash-for-work program has been a great help. We learned a lot and gained different experiences we can carry with us into future work opportunities.”)
Magsaysay College OIC Vice President for Academic Affairs Jelyn S. Sarong thanked DSWD for the partnership and acknowledged the participants’ efforts.
A similar cash-for-work program is being carried out at Tagoloan Community College and is expected to end this July.
