Davao City (DSWD) – Some 114 City/Municipal Links (C/MLs) of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) attend a three-day training on Food and Nutrition Module of the Family Development Session (FDS) Manual starting Wednesday at Grand Men Seng Hotel.

“The food and nutrition training is DSWD’s response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive on the provision of rice subsidy to the poorest of the poor to address the recurring hunger problem during his 2016 State of the Nation Address (SONA). The Department will prepare Pantawid beneficiaries to become independent and self-reliant thru the integration of backyard vegetable gardening and animal-raising for their own consumption,” said DSWD XI Focal Person for FDS Ella Charise Antepasado. 

The primary objective of the training is to equip participants with knowledge, attitude and thinking skills to effectively manage and facilitate the implementation of the module to beneficiaries which will be incorporated in the monthly-held FDS. It will follow the active and participative learning approach which is called the “ADIDS (Activity, Discussion, Input, Deepening and Synthesis)” approach, Antepasado added.

Subsequently, the training aims to (a) identify the core messages of the different sessions of the Food and Nutrition Module, and be able to cascade the same message to their co–C/MLs; (b) describe the strategies or approaches in conducting the module through demonstration; (c) gain mastery of the different content areas in the module, particularly the objectives, activities, methodologies and key learning points through return demonstration; and (d) prepare a re-entry plan in rolling-out training and technical assistance on the use of the module to their co-C/MLs.

The FDS Manual is currently being used by Pantawid Pamilya to achieve its goal of empowering program beneficiaries to perform their parental roles and responsibilities by responding to everyday needs of their families and their children. FDS is seen as an intervention for parents to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to improve the health, nutrition, cognitive, and psychosocial situation of their children; promote positive family values; and strengthen marital relationships to encourage involvement, participation, volunteerism, and leadership of program beneficiaries.

At present, a total of 233,694 households all over Davao Region is benefiting from the program saturating all cities and municipalities in all 5 provinces as well as Davao City. (DSWD)