A member of the B’laan Tribe from Barangay Eday in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat was recognized as the Best Community Volunteer in the 2nd “Bayani Ka!” Awards of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).

The “Bayani Ka!” Awards, which started in 2014, is intended to recognize the exemplary efforts of Kalahi-CIDSS community volunteers and  partner-local government units (LGUs) in ensuring not only the completion of their identified sub-projects, but also in actively supporting citizen participation in local governance and poverty alleviation initiatives.

Marcelo Gusanan was awarded as the Best Community Volunteer for Mindanao and the overall Best Community Volunteer by Kalahi-CIDSS. He was instrumental in mobilizing his fellow B’laans to participate in the program, as they were wary about government programs due to their bad experiences in the past, as they only got empty promises that help would come their way.

Gusanan proudly stated that Brgy. Eday, previously labeled as a “no man’s land”, is now known as a peaceful and progressive community. He credited Kalahi-CIDSS for triggering their village’s transformation.

“Mula sa ‘no man’s land’, ngayon ay umabot na kami sa 1,500 sa Eday. Masagana, masaya, at mapayapa na pamumuhay. Salamat sa Kalahi-CIDSS (From being a no man’s land, Barangay Eday now has a population of 1,500. People have bountiful, happy and peaceful lives. Thank you, Kalahi-CIDSS),” Gusanan said.

He downplayed the leadership role he played in their village’s implementation of Kalahi-CIDSS, humbly saying, “Naniniwala ako na ang pamayanan ay repleksyon ng lider nito (I believe that the community reflects its leader).”

The other community volunteers recognized during the awarding ceremony were Mary Fe Antones from La Libertad, Negros Oriental and Abello Frias from Mobo, Masbate as the Best community volunteers of Visayas and Luzon, respectively.

Antones sold her piglet to have funds to help her village implement their community project through Kalahi-CIDSS. Frias, on the other hand, braved a storm while having a fever to do the same.

LGUs were also recognized in the event. Barangay Sto. Cristo in Quezon, Nueva Ecija; the municipality of Catanauan in Quezon; and, Compostela Valley were recognized as best LGUs at the barangay, municipal, and provincial levels, respectively.

Mayor Ramon Orfanel accepted the award in behalf of the LGU of Catanauan.

He said, “Ang alam ko dati ‘I’ lang. Akala ko dahil ako ang Mayor, ako lang ang may alam. Sa Kalahi-CIDSS, natutunan ko ang ‘we’ (In the past, the only thing I recognized was ‘I’.  Since I was the mayor, I thought that I was the only one who knew everything. In Kalahi-CIDSS, I learned the value of ‘we’).”

Paul Paraguya of CODE-NGO and one of the “Bayani Ka!” judges, described the awards as a way of “raising the standard of living, of excellence” by inspiring community volunteers and local government partners to help in the realization of community-driven development (CDD).

As a CDD program, Kalahi-CIDSS builds up on empowering the citizens and tightening their links with their LGUs so that they can work together to ensure their villages’ progress. Through this strategy, people are given the power and the resources so they can address their issues that affect or worsen their poverty situation.

As said by DSWD Undersecretary for the Operations and Programs Group-Promotive Programs Camilo Gudmalin, “It is people’s selflessness, be they community volunteers or program personnel, that serves as fuel that keeps Kalahi-CIDSS moving, to help change communities move from the status quo and get out of poverty”.###