MURCIA celebrated Women's Month last March by conducting a series of activities geared toward women empowerment, highlighted by livelihood training for women in the town.

"About 240 women from the 23 barangays of Murcia participated and benefitted from this livelihood project undertaken by the administration of Mayor Gerry M. Rojas," said Murcia First Lady Berni Rojas, who spearheaded the training in behalf of her husband.

The women were trained in Basic Haircut and Hair Color and in Rug-making.

Designers and beauty experts Kelly Cuachon and Benjie Borja shared their expertise in hairstyling, while Jennifer Medalla taught the participants the basics of making floor mats and pot holders out of strips of cloth.

To comply with required health and safety protocols, the participants were grouped by cluster of barangays, and the trainings were conducted on separate schedules in different venues convenient to participants in that specific cluster.

"We aim to empower our women by providing them with the skills, which will allow them to maximize their spare time in earning additional income for their families. The administration of Mayor Rojas also gave the participants the basic tools and materials so that they can immediately practice their newly-learned skills," Rojas added.

She also said that she pledged to buy the floor mats and pot holders produced by the participants after the training, and the products will be among the items offered for sale by the town.

"This livelihood training is a year-round priority project of the administration of Mayor Rojas. Last March, we prioritized the women because it was Women's Month, but we will continue conducting such training and livelihood projects in the coming months," she assured the Murciahanons.

Assisting Murcia's first lady in the training were OIC-Tourism Officer Estella Barba and Agnes Baylon of the Municipal Agriculture Office, supported by the barangay captains and council. (PR)