The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VIII through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services – National Community-Driven Development Program (KALAHI CIDSS–NCDDP) is currently conducting a three-day training for Barangay GAD (Gender and Development) volunteers cum Assessment of Gender Mainstreaming on KALAHI CIDSS-NCDDP in Eastern Visayas. The activity started on August 27 and will end on September 1, 2014 at Ciriaco Hotel, Calbayog City in Samar.

Said training, funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), aims to build and enhance the competencies of the Barangay GAD volunteers in facilitating gender mainstreaming in KALAHI CIDSS-NCDDP through Gender Sensitivity Training (GST).

“Since KC-NCDDP is one of the three major poverty alleviation programs of DSWD that fosters community empowerment, the program’s commitment to reducing poverty is in unison with its endeavor to addressing gender inequality,” DSWD Regional Director Nestor Ramos emphasized,

In order to realize the goal in supporting gender mainstreaming in KC-NCDDP, the Gender Incentive Grant (GIG) has been approved as a complementary grant facility on top of the MCC grant to all MCC funded areas for the purpose of addressing gender issues.

“Because gender continues to be a development issue, we want our community volunteers to become GAD champions,” Regional Community Development Specialist, Novelita Villarin said.

More than the discussion on the basic concepts of gender and development, including its legal imperatives, the gender sensitivity training also seeks to translate these GAD concepts into effective Gender Sensitivity Exercises (GSEs), to promote further appreciation and deepening of understanding by the participants of the gender perspective in development.

The training is composed of two batches coming from seven MCC guaranteed municipalities. Batch 1 which started last August 27-29, 2014 is composed of 95 volunteers coming from municipalities of Daram, Sto. Niño, and Talalora; The second batch is comprised of 96 GAD volunteers from San Sebastian, San Jose de Buan, Motiong and Matuguinao and will start on August 30 toward September 1, 2014.

At the end of the training, personal and municipal action plans promoting gender equality and women empowerment are expected to be drafted by each participant. ###