By Louielyn G. Baldostamon, CDO III
There are just about 22 families who can truly call Barangay Maduyo in their home. A remote, upland village in Miag-ao town, Barangay Maduyo is more than 40 kilometers away from the town proper. And it can be reached only on foot – a grueling ten-kilometer walk.
On a good day, the trek to Maduyo is difficult enough as it is with some of the hilly sections too steep even for motorcycles. It would take about one hour of brisk walking on a sunny day to reach Maduyo. But when it rains, it takes twice the time, maybe longer. Imagine taking that trek if you’re old, or sick, or pregnant… on a rainy day.
Life for this handful of hardy souls in Maduyo is quite simple – fathers till the land raising rice, vegetables, and other crops for food and other needs, mothers tend to the house chores and raising the family while the children walk a few kilometers every day to school in the nearby barangays.
But then came hope. The community has been ‘gifted’ with a 77 linear meters foot walk (community access road through the Kalahi-CIDSS NCDDP). Barangay Maduyo is among the 96 barangays in Miag-ao to implement sub-projects aimed to provide community access to basic social services.
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SUB-PROJECT
The sub-project, dubbed “Improvement of Rural Access through Community Managed Construction of Foot Walk” came as a result of the Barangay Assembly conducted to prioritize the community’s unmet needs. But the construction of the pathway did not only give the residents the vital infrastructure, it also provided them with learning opportunities and life-changing experiences.
Edna Falsario, Barangay Sub Project Management Committee Chairperson, admitted she was very hesitant to take the role as BSPMC. But as the Sub Project has already been implemented, she has come to enjoy and appreciate her role.
As the BSPMC, she convened the workers and the volunteers and even helps in the preparation of their foods. Most of the time, she and her husband provided snacks from out of their own pocket.
Falsario said that the Bayanihan spirit was again strengthened. Given the limited grant of only 134,000, they were able to implement foot walk access road.
“The people here all helped to haul the materials. We took charge of the hauling cost because our fund is too small.”
Community empowerment was very evident in all stages of sub-project implementation. The Barangay Captain Roberto Beason said Kalahi-CIDSS increased community attendance and participation in the Barangay Assembly. “In the past, we had difficulty calling people to a meeting. But with Kalahi, they all come when called.
It was only a 77-meter long foot walk. But life in the village changed. Aside from the convenience of not walking on a dangerous hilly portion of the mountain, the community made an improvised bamboo-railings to make the pathway even safer for the elders and children, especially during the rainy season. (Kalahi-CIDSS/DSWD)