The City Social Welfare on Development (CSWDO) continues capacitating social workers and volunteers by providing resource services training in Davao City.
Jupanie Simpao, the focal person of the community welfare program of CSWDO’s Social Welfare Operation Division (SWOD), said resource services training is vital for social workers to empower volunteers in their barangays.
“Dako kaayo og impact ang kato’ng nahitabo nato nga community volunteer’s resource services nga training, tungod kay pinaaagi niini, ma-capacitate ang atoang mga social wokers,[unya] sila na pod to’ng muadto sa ground. Mu-capacitate na pod kung unsa man gyud diay ka importante kung naay mga volunteers diha sa atoang barangay (The community volunteer’s resource services training is very impactful because, through this, our social workers will be capacitated and will personally to go to the ground. They will be the ones who will capacitate the volunteers and raise awareness on the value of volunteers in the barangay),” she said in an interview with the city-owned Davao City Disaster Radio.
She said these initiatives are in line with Republic Act 9418, also known as the Volunteer Act of 2007, which requires the government to coordinate, facilitate, and encourage the voluntary sector’s involvement in the promotion, utilization, and acknowledgment of volunteerism in international cooperation and national development.
“We have this volunteerism nga programa dira sa atoang syudad sa Davao. Isip tubag niana, ang atoang opisina sa CSWDO, naa ta’y ginahatag nga capacity building dira sa atoang mga volunteers, nagkalahi-lahi nga mga organized group sa Davao City (We have a volunteer program here in Davao. In response to the [law], our CSWDO office has provided capacity building to various organized groups in Davao City),” she said.
She said before these activities, they give volunteers the social preparation for people’s participation to promote community members’ awareness of the situation in their communities.
“Para sila maka-analyze kung unsa man to’ng ilahang mga problema, pag-priority sa ilahang mga gikinahanglan, ug makamugna og community development goals (So that they can analyze what their problems are, so that they can prioritize their needs, and create community development goals),” she said.
“Gusto man gud nato nga dili lang isa, duha ka mga social workers per district ang maka-agi gyud og community volunteer’s resource development, but gusto nato nga ma-capacitate gyud ang tana’ng mga social workers sa CSWDO (We really want that not only one or two social workers per district to go through community volunteer’s resource development, but we want to capacitate all those social workers in CSWDO),” she added.
The CSWDO has organized groups for women, senior citizens, people with disabilities (PWD), children and youth, single parents, Indigenous Peoples (IPs), drug reformists, former rebels, and OFWs’ left-behind families.
She said all members of these organized groups have been equipped to recognize problems in their communities, possess the necessary knowledge to address such problems and develop community-based programs and activities. CIO
