NUEVA VALENCIA, Guimaras – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VI through its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), conducted a three-day training for “Parent Leaders as Teachers” in Nueva Valencia here starting yesterday up to tomorrow. The event aims to empower PLs to become facilitators during their monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS) in their respective barangays.

Twenty PLs from the said municipality participated in the event, which was held at the Nueva Valencia Cooperative Conference Room. Participants are all pioneers which gives them excitement and motivation to focus more on the training to gain new knowledge and skills that they could apply to their members and communities.

The training was supported by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) of Guimaras headed by Sherly Y. Gabotin. It was also spearheaded by 4Ps Regional Family Development Session (FDS) Focal Person Chanderlyn Jesselle Rile, along with Diody F. Fadullan, Institutional Partnership Development Officer for Civil Society Organization (IPDO-CSO), and Maricel V. Robles, Social Welfare Officer III of 4Ps Iloilo -Guimaras Provincial Operations Office. The event was facilitated by the dedicated 4Ps staff from the Municipality of Nueva Valencia.

One of the participants, Regine G. Gedalanga, a PL of Barangay Oracon Sur, expressed her gratitude for the program. She shared that the 4Ps have been a tremendous help to her family, especially with school expenses, allowing them to purchase essential school supplies for her children. She also credited the program for providing her the opportunity to become a PL in her barangay, organizing her fellow members in the different community activities such as clean-up drives, gardening, and tree/mangrove planting.

Gedalanga proudly shared that they won a grand prize in the Backyard Garden category during the 2021 Sadsaran Festival in their town. As a PL for almost three years, she has developed her communication and leadership skills, contributing to the successful implementation of the program in her community. In addition to her involvement with 4Ps, she is also a member of the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) IWAG and Farmers Association, further expanding her role in the community.

“I am grateful to be a part of this training because this will add new knowledge and opportunities in my personal growth,” she said.

Gedalanga extended her heartfelt gratitude to the program, emphasizing how the 4Ps have positively changed their lives, particularly of many Filipino families by helping them rise out of poverty. (By SDA Focal Nelson Calacasan of Iloilo-Guimaras POO)