She was a distressed woman but look how she is now ! After years of battling her rights as legal wife of a seafarer, Aileen Lay Sainz has turned into a complete woman. From being emotionally and mentally tortured, the 52 – year-old survivor of Violence Against Woman (VAW) is now into promoting healthy lifestyle. That includes, of course, wellness of both mind and body. She spearheads a Nutrition Club and that’s what makes her pre-occupied.

Today, she has no trace of the bitter life that she went through. Her eldest child was 10 years old then, and the youngest, five, when Aileen’s husband left the family.

Aileen joined the band of VAW advocates in Tacloban after she has learned to move on. She now stands as vice-president of the 5K Women (Kapit-Kamay para sa Katarungan, Kapayapaan, at Kabuhayaan ) which is a DOLE – registered organization and being backed up by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).

Carmela Bastes, head of the CSWDO – run Shelter for Women, said Aileen is one of the women who sought refuge at their facility. It was in year 2010, timely when the center was inaugurated, that Aileen approached the center. However, the latter had apprehensions whether to really pursue with her complaint with the husband. That was in year 2011 when she did.

The social worker bared that in the interview with any of any of its clients, the Center staff would usually give options of what she could possibly do, and leave it upon her to decide what action to take.

Carmela says there are at least three women in a day who go to the center to ask help. Now, it has 29 wards being attended to by the shelter facility. Services include legal assistance, psycho-social support, skills training, livelihood support, among others.

The DSWD Field Office VIII has its own halfway home for abused and exploited women, dubbed as Regional Haven, located at Pawing in Palo, Leyte. Since it cannot cater to all of same women from Region Eight, local government units need to come up with their facility.

Of course, the DSWD regularly monitors the operations and structure of any welfare entity to ensure that standards are met. Hence, the need to license and accredit by the DSWD.# #DSWDMayMalasakit @DSWDserves