Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian visits on Thursday (September 11) an Aeta community in Floridablanca, Pampanga where the agency’s Project LAWA at BINHI will be implemented next year.
As part of the project’s initial intervention, the DSWD provided Food-for-Work (FFW) to 200 Aetas as they planted crops in their vegetable farm located near the Floridablanca National Agricultural School.
The Project LAWA (Local Adaptation to Water Access) at BINHI (Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished), which started in 2023, is designed to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change by addressing water scarcity and food insecurity.
Joining the DSWD Secretary in the visit to the Indigenous People (IP) community were Pampanga Governor Lilia ‘Nanay’ Pineda and Floridablanca Mayor Michael Galang.
Also present during the activity were DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, Disaster Response Management Bureau Director Maria Isabel Lanada, and DSWD Field Office 3- Central Luzon Director Venus Rebuldela. (GDVF)
DSWD chief turns over carabaos, farming tools to Aetas in Capas, Tarlac
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian leads the distribution of 50 carabaos to the Aeta beneficiaries of the agency’s Pag-abot Program in Barangay Maruglo, Capas, Tarlac on Thursday (September 11)
The 50 carabaos are in addition to the 91 already provided last year to the Aeta-beneficiaries who were among the Indigenous Peoples who go to the National Capital Region (NCR) to solicit donations during the Christmas season.
Aside from the carabaos, 10 hand tractors, 9 units of mini-tiller cultivator, 33 units of knapsack sprayer, and other farm tools were also distributed through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS).
The convergence of the DSWD’s development programs has benefitted a total of 579 farmers, 521 of whom are Indigenous Peoples.
Capas Mayor Atty Roseller Rodriguez, DSWD Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao, Pag-abot Program Director Marilyn Moral, and DSWD Field Office 3-Central Luzon were also present during the turnover. (GDVF)
