The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 6 released P3.6 million to partner-beneficiaries of Project Local Adaptation to Water Access (LAWA) and Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished (BINHI) in San Carlos, Negros Occidental May 28.
Each of the 400 partner-beneficiaries received P9,000, for their attendance in the three-day Cash for Training program and the services they rendered during the 15-day Cash for Work program by planting fruit-bearing trees.
Project LAWA and BINHI, initiated by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, aim to strengthen the adaptive capabilities of poor and vulnerable families during severe drought and to mitigate the food insecurity and water scarcity caused by the El Niño phenomenon through sustainable development programs, the DSWD said in a press release May 29.
DSWD6 Disaster Response Management Division chief Erlyn Garcia led the payout, in coordination with the local government unit of San Carlos.
City Environment Management Office Forestry Division administrative aide IV Marilou Talabero said the 400 beneficiaries are from barangays Five, Rizal, and One.
The DSWD6, meanwhile, facilitated the site visit and monitoring mission of World Food Program in Western Visayas.
The WFP team, composed of agronomist Matteo Vailati, Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) officer in Rome Kevin Ketchmen, communications officer Dale Rivera and EPR Manila officer Harold Javier, monitored the implementation of projects on improving water access and food security, particularly the LAWA and BINHI.
The monitoring team visited the Project LAWA and BINHI sites in Iloilo City and Antique to measure the impact of the projects on water sufficiency, food security and the overall community resilience, and further assessed if it actually addressed the needs of the partner-beneficiaries.
They also documented the best practices and success stories from project implementations in Iloilo City and Antique that can be replicated in other regions facing similar challenges, the DSWD added. ||
