What is the value of a road? For septuagenarians and students, a simple cemented road can ease their discomfort and provide accessibility.

In Mayapay, Buruanga, Aklan, 73-year old Orlando Taneza has seen his life change since the Kalahi-CIDSS financed village road was built.

“Mas masadya tana kaeon kay nakay-ad na ang kalsada. Ang dalan kang una kalisod-lisod. Sang una ro di kalasa-lasa gid, (It is better now since a new road is constructed. Before the road is difficult and muddy,” said Taneza.

Taneza, who is already a septuagenarian says he appreciates the government for addressing their needs which already been existing for decades.  “Hay bukot sementado sang una dya lang nag sementado (It is only now that the road is cemented. Before it was not),” he said.

“Gapanaw lang sang una ang mga estudyante. Dahan-dahan lang sila nga indi makadusmo (Before, the students just walked. They walked slowly in order not to slip),” he says.

The new road replaced a narrow path that farmers used to haul their products to market such as copra, vegetables, and bananas.

Taneza recalls before they only carried on their backs their produce from the different sitios to town proper. Today, there are single motorcycles which traverse their village until the nearby village of Bel-is.

Another, septuagenarian Gliceria Sim says it is now much convenient for people to go back and forth especially for people who are of her age.

At 75, Sim enjoys walking from Mayapay to the nearby village of Bel-is though the sun is already up. She was shy but laughs when asked how the project benefits the community especially to the elderly.

CHALLENGING PROCESS

With a total Internal Revenue Allotment of P1,402,874, it is impossible for the barangay to allocate fund in building a road project.

Building a road using the Kalahi-CIDSS way is not easy. It was a challenging process at the outset, says Janine Iguiron, Kalahi-CIDSS Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee chairperson.

Iguiron recalls that at first, she was very hesitant to become the Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee chairperson to implement the construction of the 210 meters road project since she was not even a barangay official and a leader.

Her fears address after a series of seminars and trainings conducted by Kalahi-CIDSS among the pool of community volunteers. “Abu-abo gid akon natun-an sa Kalahi-CIDSS bilang isa ka volunteer. Na empowered gid ako sa andang lessons (As a volunteer, I learn a lot from Kalahi-CIDSS, I was empowered because of their teachings). “

Being a community volunteer is not easy. It means taking their time without compensation.

She agrees to lead the pool of communities in Mayapay since she has also seen the sacrifices of people because of inaccessible road. “Nakita nakon ang sakripisyo it mga tawo halin sang una asta nga diya (I have seen the sacrifices of the people before and until now). “

Iguiron says she lived in Manila for more than 20 years and when she returned nothing had changed, the road is still inaccessible.

She says as the lead person among the community volunteers, they had to convince people to donate land for the road. Luckily, one resident donated 6 meters wide and 210 meters long land to give way to the road project.

There was no compensation made since the village did not have a budget for it. They also find it difficult to look for contractors for the project.

The refusal of the people to recognize the Community-Driven Development process and the doubting Thomases in the community also adds up to the challenges in implementing the project, with the community identifying the project and volunteers as lead persons in implementing.

HOW THE PROJECT WAS IDENTIFIED

The road project was identified during a village assembly. It was the people who pushed for the project. Luckily, it was prioritized for Kalahi-CIDSS funding, said Iguiron.

Mayapay has seven sitios namely, Liyang, Centro, Bobonga, Cabudwan, Riverside 1 and Riverside 2. The road project is located in Sitio Atintin to Bobonga.

“Grabe ang sakripisyo kang mga tawo nga gaagi di sa amon dalan. Hindi man kasaka ang salakyan (It was a dreadful sacrifice for the people who passed our road. Vehicles could not go up),” she says.

“Copra gid tana ang main produkto namon. Dati ang copra, ginasulod sa sako kag ginapas-an et tawo nga 50-60 kilos ang bug-at. Ang bayad kada sako tag p50-60 sa nagahakwat (Our main product here is copra. Before we placed the copra in sacks and being carried on their shoulders, each sack is 50-60 kilos),” she says.

The muddy road is not only the concern of farmers but also of students who have to walk through it.

“Lasa-lasa ang diya nga dalan pati mga estudyante naga agi di naga tsinelas lang. Wa pa anay sila gasuksok et uniform bale udto lang sila sa ubos gasuksok dahil maputikan ag malasa ang anda ya sapatos (The road is muddy and students only wear slippers. They do not wear their uniforms until they reached in the outer portion of the village because it will smudge their shoes),” she says.

Mayapay also connects to the nearby village of Bel-is. With the road project, it made easier for students from Bel-is Elementary School to reach the school even if it rains.

Iguiron says it took them more than 20 years to have a good road. “Kabuhay-buhay ro gid tana ginapangarap it amon mga pumuluyo diri sa amon barangay mabutangan it dalan (Our people have long been dreaming of a road here).”

Buruanga is one of the municipalities in the province of Aklan which was affected by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. It became a Kalahi-CIDSS municipality as part of the government’s response to address the needs of typhoon-affected towns.

In 2014, Kalahi-CIDSS provided more than P15 million grant to Buruanga to finance the construction of 14 scale projects including the 210-meter road project in Mayapay.

PROJECT COMPLETED

In bringing their community greater prosperity, Iguiron, her fellow community volunteers, and barangay officials combined their efforts to complete the road project.

“Nakabatyag man kami kalipay sawakas natapos man amon project paagi sa kalisod-lisod nga processo kag kadamo lang nga problema (We are happy that our project is already finished through a complicated process and all the problems),” says Iguiron.

Now, at 42 years old, Iguiron says their dream came true because if the community’s volunteerism. “Ang bolunterismo amo nga i-offer mo gid kanag time, imo ea bulig para sa kamalayran et barangay (In volunteerism, you have to offer your time for the good of the barangay).”

“Ang amon dalan kalisod gid sang una, diya nakita ko nga natapos abo gid ang akon kalipay dahil isa ako sa mga haligi nga nakapatindog ea nga proyekto (Our road before is impassable, today our road is already completed, I’m happy one of those behind its completion),” she says.

“Gapabilin gid sa akon ang natun-an ko sa Kalahi-CIDSS. Ang pagkakaisa sa mga proyekto  ng ating gobyerno ro masarap sa pakiramdam na is aka sa nakabulig  (What I learned in Kalahi-CIDSS stays within me. It feels good to help in implementing government projects),” she says. # (MMC/Kalahi-CIDSS/DSWD)