The municipality of Tarangnan in Samar is currently full of activities that will eventually help demonstrate the beauty of coming together three of the Department’s major anti-poverty programs. It has been picked as the showcase area for the DSWD’s Convergence Strategy Program in the province because of the existence of the core protection programs, the full support of the local government unit, and its being a recipient area of the PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM ([PANTAWID PAMILYA) under Set II.

The Convergence Strategy Program calls for a unified action to harmonize the PANTAWID PAMILYA, the KAPIT-BISIG LABAN SA KAHIRAPAN – COMPREHENSIVE AND INTEGRATED DELIVERY OF SOCIAL SERVICES : KAPANGYARIHAN AT KAUNLARAN SA BARANGAY (KALAHI-CIDSS : KKB), and the SELF-EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE – KAUNLARAN PROGRAM (SEA-K), in order to generate greater impact on poverty reduction.

Assistant Regional Director Jamie Eclavea, concurrently the Program’s Deputy Manager, revealed that the convergence strategy is being prioritized for implementation in the PANTAWID PAMILYA’s Set One areas ( ten municipalities of Northern Samar) and Set Two areas ( 24 municipalities and one city of Samar).

To gradually synchronize the programs’ operation, numerous teambuilding sessions have been conducted at the provincial and municipal levels for the sake of the project staff of the core programs. The focus of the teambuilding included synchronization of schedules, clarification of roles corresponding to the specific areas of specialization of the team members and the processes needed in the conduct of program implementation.

Ofelia Pagay, the focal person of the convergence strategy, bared that there has been an orientation, too, on the updated Social Welfare Indicators (SWI) as a tool to assess the level of well – being of poor households and to monitor the changes in their socio-economic condition, after a package of services has been delivered. This is so because there shall be an integrated social case management system that will be applied to all households being served by the three projects, Pagay added.

Soon to be made is a convergence planning that will involve national and local implementers of the three core programs, designated focal person on convergence at the local government unit level, non-government organizations operating in the area, school division superintendent, health officers, women leaders, and other stakeholders.