WITH the growing population of people who are living below the poverty threshold, leaders from various sectors in Cagayan de Oro have traced the roots of the "answer" to gradually alleviate what is common among communities in the country and the world at large.
Education, the leaders agreed, is the core in poverty reduction.
Teodoro Sabuga-a Jr., chief of the City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD), said that education has been the principal answer to alleviate, if not eradicate, the number of Kagay-anons suffering from the society's "most dangerous disease."
Reports from his office revealed that only six out of every 10 group of children in the city aged 3 to 4 go to schools.
Sabuga-a called this a "very alarming" state of the city.
He added that the new anti-poverty campaign in the city will urge parents with children three to four years old to send them to day care school.
"The common misconception among parents is not sending their kids to day care because they don't know how to write and read yet," Sabuga-a said.
The social welfare chief maintained that day care school is not about writing and reading, rather, it is a stage for kids to play wherein they will develop familiarization with their potential abilities.
Sabuga-a reminded parents that early education is the foundation for brain development of the children.
"If the upbringing of kids is not good, most likely they would grow as children in conflict with the law or children at risk," he said, clarifying of his intention is not to discriminate.
The presented framework includes the activation of over 165 day care centers in 80 barangays free of charge.
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, head of Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, who spearheaded the conference to reduce poverty, said this problem in the society is a cancer that if left untreated will cause more harm.
Ledesma has been known for his stance to end poverty.
Other participating agencies of the poverty reduction framework are departments of Agrarian Reform, Agriculture, Trade and Industry and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.