Urduja is a legendary Filipino heroine recognized for her strong leadership and deep passion for serving the people. Breaking the stereotype of women being weak and passive, Urduja was a leader who guided and defended her community.
In the scenic coastal town of Taytay, Palawan, townsfolks here recognize Gaudiosa M. Alto as their modern-day Urduja when it comes to seaweeds farming.
Gaudiosa, at 63 years old, is the President of Bagong Pag-Asa Association (BPA), an organization of seaweeds farmers formed under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
She acquired her knowledge and skills in seaweeds farming when she and other members of BPA participated in a training conducted by DSWD, the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Regional Fisheries Training Centre.
Change
The training that Gaudiosa and the association members attended became instrumental in transforming their lives especially that they used to engage in the illegal and hazardous job of carbon mining.
“Dati po kaming nagmimina ng karbon para kami ay mabuhay. Mahirap magmina ng karbon. Buhay ang nakataya d’yan (We used to engage in carbon mining to survive, which is difficult. Our lives are at risk),” Gaudiosa narrated.
Carbon mining is also harmful to the environment.
However difficult life has been, she did not lose hope. With the help of their Barangay Chairman Edilberto Felizarte, Gaudiosa discovered the opportunities offered by SLP.
“Humingi si Kapitan ng tulong sa SLP kung puwede raw bigyan kami ng hanapbuhay. Ito nga ang binigay, ang seaweeds production (Our barangay captain requested the assistance of DSWD’s SLP if we could be given employment, and they provided us a livelihood venture, which is seaweeds production),” Gaudiosa recollected.
With the help of SLP, two major associations were organized: Bagong Pag-asa and Taytay Palawan Seaweeds Farmers Federation.
“Napakasaya ko po. Malaking tulong talaga pag-produce ng seaweeds sa amin. ng malaking pagbabago po talaga sa aming buhay (I am so happy. Seaweeds production is a big help to us. There is really a huge change in our lives),” Gaudiosa shared.
Their municipality is a good environment for seaweeds production because it is strategically located in a relatively typhoon-free area with wide reeves and coastal shelves and extended marine coastlines.
Because of this, seaweeds production has become her primary source of income. It also strengthened her relationship with her family and the community.
“Dito kami kumukuha ng pambili ng pagkain araw-araw at mga gamit sa eskwelahan ng aming mga anak (We use our income from seaweed farming to buy food and school supplies for our children),” she continued.
Through her leadership, the livelihood venture of their group became profitable. It has also transformed the lives of the other members in their community.
DSWD, DA, and BFAR are now expanding their aid to the association, providing them technical assistance on organizational development and marketing.
Empowered, independent
As head of the group, Gaudiosa’s long-term goal is to enable the association members to become self-sufficient so that they will not stay dependent on the support given by the government.
DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman commended Gaudiosa and her group.
“Our Department’s programs aim to ensure that families become empowered and eventually be capable to stand on their own feet. We value the Urdujas among our partner-beneficiaries, like Gaudiosa, because they help us push for positive change in the lives of our countrymen,” Sec. Soliman shared.
SLP is a community-based capacity building program that seeks to improve the program participants’ socio-economic status. It is implemented through two tracks: Microenterprise Development and Employment Facilitation.
The Microenterprise Development track supports micro-enterprises in becoming organizationally and economically viable. On the other hand, the Employment Facilitation track assists participants to access appropriate employment opportunities.
Both tracks are executed based on the Community-Driven Enterprise Development (CDED) approach, which equips program participants to actively contribute to production and labor markets by looking at available resources and accessible markets.
From 2011 to October 2015, SLP has already benefited a total of 851,505 families who now have regular sources of income. ###
