YOUTH leaders from different barangays in Cagayan de Oro City were recognized for the projects they implemented to help address the problems within their communities.
Spearheaded by the Ayala Foundation and in partnership with JCI Kagayhaan Gold, Balay Mindanaw Foundation Inc. and the City Government, the Leadership Communities (LeadCom) CDO, through its Agipo Awards, awarded three barangays that garnered the top three highest number of points based on the judges' scores and program validation results.
According to Joseph Roldan Tagalog of Ayala Foundation, the projects of each of the nine participating barangays were rated in terms of the impact of the project in the community, its sustainability and empowerment of the barangay.
Youth leaders from Barangay Canitoan were awarded with the Agipo Gold Award for its Kinaiyahan Ampingan project that aims to promote proper waste segregation at source through innovative solutions, which includes: Lakaw Ta Bai: A Walk for a Healthy Environment, Palit sa Basura Store and May Load sa Basura (a garbage exchange systems), and Environmental Summit - an event that advocates recycling and reuse of materials.
Apart from the gold award, Barangay Canitoan also received the Best Community Involvement Program award, Outstanding Team Collaboration award and Most Outstanding Mentor award for Michell Jacob.
Youth leaders from Barangay Puerto, meanwhile, received the Agipo Silver Award for its Against Cyber Addiction Youth Advocates project, wherein it aims to raise awareness among children aged 5 to 13 years old about the effects of cyber addiction to their development.
The Agipo Bronze Award was given to Barangay Mambuaya for their Kabataan Laban sa Basura project that aims to raise awareness on the importance of solid waste management by organizing youth-led clean-up drive, and establishment of trash bins, Material Recovery Facility and compost pit in Centennial Village, Mambuaya.
Barangay Mambuaya was also awarded with Outstanding Project Implementation award.
Apart from the top three Agipo awards, other barangays also received minor awards such as Best Barangay Empowerment Program to Barangay Agusan for their #GreenVoices Project; Best Youth Empowerment Program to Barangay Tablon for their Kaugmaon ko, Responsibilidad ko Project; Outstanding Community Service Program to Barangay Patag for their Improving Youth through Malleable Project; Outstanding Partner Collaboration Program to Barangay Bayabas; Outstanding Long Term Development Program to Barangay Kauswagan for their G-exchange Project; and Most Outstanding Youth Leader to Genarah Phie Porras.
LeadCom is a year-long youth program that empowers the community youth leaders. Under the program, the Ayala Foundation has partnered with the barangays and capacitated the nominated youth leaders for them to implement projects that address the problems they identify within their community.
During the year-long program, the youth leaders from the participating barangays undergo workshops, mentorship, problem scanning, project planning, and project implementation.
“While implementing their projects, mga mid-August and September, we monitored their projects and then last October, we started na validating their projects,” Tagalog said.
This year's projects from the nine participating barangay is the third batch of LeadCom in Cagayan de Oro City.