Pantawid mothers attend a cooking course.
Kapalong, Davao del Norte –Some 31 Pantawid Pamilya program participants here recently completed Cookery National Certificate II conducted by Endonela Institute of Technology Foundation, Inc. (EITFI).
Facilitated by the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the training provided an opportunity for a vocational and technical enhancement skills training.
One fourth of the training cost was sponsored by the partner school while the remaining amount came as a scholarship grant from DSWD.
With Dante Cadayona as cooking coach, the 345-hour training aims at generating employment and income for the participants as well as mobilizing them to engage in micro-enteprise through carenderia management and catering services.
With this timely opportunity, participants are now equipped with the ability and the confidence to earn as they cook.
“We can change for the better because of the trust and the opportunity given us to learn and improve our lot. Thanks to DSWD,” the new graduates bellowed in unison.
This is the 3rd batch of Pantawid Pamilya recipients who trained with EITFI. Earlier, DSWD also facilitated the same training for 77 Pantawid family heads who are also typhoon survivors in Montevista and Compostela towns, Compostela Valley.
DSWD and EITFI will continue assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs) or disaster victims and other disadvantaged individuals by providing access to quality education and training for non-degree course appropriate to their individual capacities and relevant to the immediate needs of their communities.
DSWD-SLP is one of the poverty-reduction programs of DSWD along with Kalahi CIDSS-NCDDP, Pantawid Pamilya, Social Pension, Supplementary Feeding, and Grassroots Participatory Budgeting.
It aims to capacitate and develop the entrepreneurial and socio-economic skills of poor households through income-generating opportunities, enhancing their access to basic social services and employment. (DSWD)