This June 2015, at the opening of the next schoolyear, more than 25 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program children-beneficiaries from Brgy. Hibunawan in the municipality of Burauen in Leyte will no longer stay inside their old room destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

“We thank DSWD, Kalahi-CIDSS NCDDP and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for this project. MCC is an innovative and independent U.S. foreign aid agency created in 2004 that is helping lead the fight against global poverty through economic growth. KALAHI CIDSS-NCDDP, otherwise known as the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services-National Community-Driven Development Program, is one of the poverty alleviation programs of the Philippine Government being implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development…

The program is one of the three core social protection programs of DSWD in combating poverty. It uses the community-driven development (CDD) strategy to empower ordinary citizens to actively and directly participate in local governance by identifying their own community needs, planning, implementing, and monitoring projects together to address local poverty issues.

“The people of Hibunawan believes education is the most important tool to end inter-generational poverty. This is the reason why this turn-over ceremony is important to us. This will not be possible without the solidarity among us. ” Hibunawan Brgy. Captain Cipriano Relatorres said during his speech.

Day care pupils expressed their gratitude to the DSWD through a song and dance number during the sub-project inauguration and turn-over ceremony of the newly constructed day care center. The sub-project, which costs Php 948, 036. 00 is under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding.

The facility is the first sub-project to be inaugurated in the said town under MCC account for Cycle 2 or in its second year of implementation.

In 2014, Kalahi-CIDSS has completed 241 identified sub-projects in 21 municipalities under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Eastern Visayas. The MCC covers nine municipalities in the Province of Leyte including Burauen, one of the biggest towns with 77 barangays.

Projects like water system, construction of health stations, farm-to-market roads, bridges, school buildings, daycare centers, drainage system, post-harvest facilities and electrification system were accomplished at the barangay level through the CDD process or Community-Driven Development strategy.

The CDD brings power back to the people by giving them the capacity and opportunity to make decisions on issues contributing to their poverty situation.

With their colorful tables and chairs and new teaching materials, Burawanon children will now realize that learning is more fun in Hibunawan..#