ROADS BY WOMEN. Grace Melasan, 43, Kalahi-CIDSS community volunteer, helps in the construction of Concreting of 450 Linear-Meter Community Access Road in Barangay Gotamgo, Saranggani, Davao Occidental. The project is worth Php 2,141,343 and implemented through Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).

As of April 2019, there are 20,619 Kalahi-CIDSS women community volunteers in Region XI. Some 36.87% of women volunteers are laborers in the construction of community sub-projects while 55.74% are trained in program workshops and capacity building activities.

Kalahi-CIDSS provides opportunities to women in income generation and decision-making activities, thus, developing their self-confidence and leadership skills as well as increasing aspirations for personal development.

Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the programs of DSWD that uses the Community Driven Development approach to empower local communities to undertake their own development projects by actively and directly partaking in local governance such as identifying their community needs as well as taking part in implementing projects that will address these needs. (DSWD)