Panaon, Misamis Occidental – Three barangay sub-projects were turned over to communities during the conduct of the project inauguration of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) on September 3 and 4, 2013.  Among the sub-projects inaugurated were Barangay Health Station Sub-Project (Brgy. Camanucan), Brgy. Drainage Canal (Brgy. Poblacion) on Sept. 3 and Brgy. Drainage Canal (Brgy. Magsaysay) on Sept. 4, 2013. The sub-projects were properly turned-over to the respective Operations and Maintenance Committees of each barangay, who will oversee the operation of each sub-project, ensuring that their community sub-projects will be taken care of and be kept operational.

Highlighted during the activities were the hard work asserted by the volunteers to complete their sub-projects, which the representative of the Regional Project Management Office applauded and well-regarded as the crucial determinant for the success of the sub-project implementation. Another thing was the successful multi-stakeholder approach that was successfully attended to by those part of the project implementation. The RPMO stressed out the important contributions of the Provincial government of Misamis Occidental, through Gov. Herminia Ramiro, the Local Government Unit of Panaon, Misamis Oriental, through Mayor Francisco Paylaga, Jr., and the Barangay local government units of each barangay for extending support and complying with their deliverables, thus aiding in the completion of the community sub-projects.

The communities were also reminded of their role in preserving and keeping the sub-projects operational, since these are important to each barangay. Volunteers shared their experiences of being part of the Kalahi-CIDSS program and said that though they had difficulties giving their one hundred percent support to the project implementation due to conflict of schedules they have between volunteer work and family responsibilities, they tried balancing all of these just to ensure success since the sub-project they were working on was for their own benefit.  They also added that though the Kalahi-CIDSS process was quite long and demanding, the scene of their completed sub-project was a sight for sore-eyes; a welcoming spectacle that soothes all the hardship they underwent.

The Kalahi-CIDSS involvement for them was an empowering experience that “will never be forgotten.”  Volunteers were exposed to an experience where they held in their hands, life-changing decisions and solutions that will hoist them out of the problems of poverty.  Volunteers were able to work with the local government units, exposing them to the processes of working on government projects; showing them how things are done, how things are managed for their benefits.  In part, the local government unit of Panaon thanked Kalahi-CIDSS for the opportunities provided for the people of Panaon.  Mayor Paylaga stressed the importance of the program in providing sub-projects to the barangays of the municipality since the LGU of Panaon could not stand alone in providing all the needs of the communities, and that the collaboration has greatly helped not just the LGU of Panaon, but the people of the municipality.

The Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the Convergence Strategy programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development which utilizes the Community-Driven Development approach in the project implementation.  Through the program, a Community Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC) is employed for the community to define their utmost needs, conceive a plan of resolving their problems, and capacitating volunteers so that they will be competent in implementing sub-projects that will answer to their necessities.