In December 2019, the Office of MP Maisara implemented a program entitled “Women Empowerment and Livelihood Initiative for Peace” -(WELiveforPeace) in the Municipality of Butig, Lanao del Sur.
One of the objectives of the program is to help educate the mothers in finding other ways to support the family. The training program was implemented through lilveihood workshops. Workshop participants included 32 mothers, single parents and widows who are without paid work and with low family income. The women trained in effective planting techniques and ways to earn a living.
Months later, this simple intervention has began to bear fruit. The women are harvesting vegetables, putting more food on the table and earning a few pesos to buy other needs.
One participant, Nanay Saripa (Mother Saripa), thanks the program for helping provide food for the family: “Maraming salamat dahil ako ay nasali sa program ng opisina ni MP Maisara lalo na ngayon community quarantine o lockdown hindi ako nahirapan dahil sobrang nakatulong sa akin at sa aking pamilya ang taniman ko. Wala man kaming pambili ng isda mayroon naman akong gulayan sa bakuran na mapagkukunan dahil sa tulong na pinamigay sa amin na seeds ng opisina ni MP Maisara.” (Thank you for including me in the program of MP Maisara, especially now that we are under community quarantine or lockdown, I did not suffer so much because I have my vegetable garden. We do not have money to buy fish but I have my vegetables in the backyard because MP Maisara’s office gave us seeds.)
Nanay Saripa adds that she even sold some of the pechay (snow cabbage) harvest in the local market and used her earnings to buy other needs. “Sobrang nakatulong ito sa akin… Nakabili ako ng asukal, asin, sabon at iba na may maliit na halaga. Laking tuwa ko noong tumubo na din ang aking mga okrang itinanim sa sapagkat mayroon na kaming ibang gulay sa lamesa.” (It really helped a lot… I was able to buy sugar, salt, soap and other small but important items. I was so happy when my okra also sprout because we have another kind of vegetable served on the table.)
“Pag wala kaming isda, pupunta lang ako sa likod ng aking bahay at hahanap ng bunga ng kalabasa na hanggang ngayon na mas dumadami ang bunga nito,” Nanay Saripa adds. (When we do not have fish, I just go to our backyard and look for squash, which also gets plenty by the day.)
Reference: Hassana M. H. Malic
