DSWD Reaches Out To Family Of 4 Living In Wooden ‘cariton’

A family of four living in a wooden “cariton” and surviving on alms and dole-outs from passers-by in Quezon City was reached out by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Quezon City on Saturday (November 11).

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian ordered a team from Oplan Pag-Abot to reach out to the family in a street situation after a crew from TV5 was able to interview the common-law partner last Friday (Nov. 10).

Based on the TV5 interview, the father, Juan (not his real name), is willing to work if given the opportunity so he can provide food for his two children. His wife, Juana (not her real name) is currently five months pregnant with their third child.

Family in street situation — **DSWD social workers convince family in street situation :** Social workers of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) talk to a family in street situation along Araneta Avenue in Quezon City to convince them to join the Department for provision of assistance. The operation is part of the DSWD’s Oplan Pag-Abot which aims to assist families and individuals in street situations by reaching out to them and providing them with necessary and appropriate interventions.

Social workers from DSWD’s Oplan Pag-Abot were able to confirm from Juan that a woman who was visiting the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City was kind enough to give the family Php1,200 as transportation fare going to Baguio City.

Sometime in June this year, the family was able to go to Baguio City and proceeded to the house of his uncle. Unfortunately, Juan’s uncle refused to give them shelter in his house.

The common-law partner was left with only Php500 which forced them to beg for alms from passengers in the bus terminal in Baguio City and when they had enough money for their bus fare, they went back to Metro Manila.

The family has been living off begging along Araneta Avenue in Quezon City under the Skyway which protects them from the heat and rain.

“Mag-one month na po sila dito sa area,” the Pag-abot team reported to the DSWD chief.

The father wants his two children to go to school so they can have a formal education. His four-year-old daughter’s right arm is currently in a plaster cast after she fell from their wooden cariton which serves as their street shelter.

The family was profiled by the Pag-Abot Team and was brought to the Jose Fabella Center, one of the DSWD-run Centers and Residential Care Facilities (CRCF), for temporary shelter to assess what interventions are appropriate for them.

“Habang nasa CRCF, ongoing po ang assessment sa family para maibigay ang kinakailangang tulong at suporta,” the Pag-Abot team also reported to Secretary Gatchalian.

(At the center they will be assessed to determine their much-needed support and assistance.)