30 families receive houses from DSWD, Provincial Government

THE regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Provincial Government of Leyte formally turned over to 30 families their permanent shelters.

The families were the victims of the 2008 Typhoon Frank in Barangay San Sebastian, Matag-ob, Leyte.

The core shelters were formally given to the beneficiaries during a turnover ceremony attended by DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman and Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla together with other DSWD, local district and municipal officials.

The project, which amounted to more than P2.8 million, combined fund from the DSWD with P70,000 per beneficiary, P10,000 each from the Provincial Government, and P15,000 each from the local government unit of Matag-ob.

The core shelter project has a 6,317-square-meter lot in Barangay San Sebastian donated by the family of Romilia Omega-Cotejar, whose kind donation was likewise recognized by the DSWD-Eastern Visayas during the turnover rites.

The DSWD also provided cash for work in the amount of P2,400 for each of the beneficiary, while 13 families out of the 30 core shelter beneficiaries are enrolled under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The core shelter assistance project (CSAP) is a rehabilitation program of the DSWD that aims to provide structurally strong shelter units to families whose houses were destroyed by natural and man-made calamities, and have no capacity to rebuild or construct their own units.

The beneficiaries of CSAP are organized into the neighborhood association for shelter assistance (Nasa), an association composed of the beneficiaries and promotes collective action in realizing goals of the project and to develop and uphold the values of self-reliance among the beneficiaries and the community.

The association also addresses the vulnerabilities of the community while empowering beneficiaries to make the core shelter livable and more sustainable. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)