DOLE-7 trains 6th district orgs on livelihood

CEBU, Philippines - Thirty organizations from the Sixth district participated in the two-day training –seminar conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-7 Integrated Livelihood Program.

 Organizations representing the women’s sector, urban poor organizations and persons with disabilities coming from Consolacion, Cordova and Mandaue City joined the training and seminar to avail of the livelihood grants from DOLE-7 and the office of Sixth District Representative Luis Gabriel Quisumbing .

 Maria Nancy Abad, chief of the Technical Support division on Employment and Welfare of DOLE-7 said that since most of these organizations have already identified the kind of livelihood projects that they want, the training they conducted was to help them draft their business proposals and how to put up their business.

 Abad said that for 2011, DOLE has a P20 million grant of livelihood programs which they extended to both formal and informal sectors of the society.

 Once these organizations have submitted their proposals, Abad said DOLE -7 could extend an 80% grant of their planned livelihood projects while Quisumbing’s office will also shoulder the remaining 20%.

 Abad added that once these organizations will submit their business proposals, their office might release the checks by the end of October so that they could immediately start of with their livelihood project.

 Quisumbing’s District Manager Jessielito Perez said that since their “Asenso Sixto” livelihood program in the sixth district served as the mother organization of all livelihood program organizations accredited by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the beneficiaries’ business proposal will be submitted to their office.

 The “Asenso Sixto” is a livelihood program initiated by Quisumbing to help wives and their family members earn a living even if they are just staying at home.

Their products are mostly handicrafts such as bags, invitation cards, placemats, wallets and other products which are made out of scraps and other waste materials that they could find anywhere. — (FREEMAN)