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Volunteerism is always alive in Compostela Valley.
With the spirit of “bayanihan” or volunteerism not new in the province, the Provincial Government of ComVal was chosen as the frontrunner of Barangay Walang Iwanan, a program initiated by the Gawad Kalinga (GK) which is aimed at strengthening the ties of every stakeholder in engaging the communities in driving inclusive growth.
Barangay Walang Iwanan (BWI) is a campaign to mainstream the culture of caring and sharing as well as the lifestyle of volunteerism among the locals in the communities which targets to engage more than 20,000 barangays in the Philippines to feed the hungry, build homes, care for the environment, fix schools and unleash the potential of the poor to become partners in improving communities.
Impressed with ComVal’s efforts in engaging its people in all of its “Bayanihan Challenges”, representatives from GK headed by Ricky Villanueva, GK Coordinator for Davao, and Patrick Doromal, Volunteer Coordinator for Southern Mindanao, presented the campaign during the partners’ forum on February 12 at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall, Cabidianan, Nabunturan, ComVal.
The campaign has immediately drawn positive feedback and support from the different Local Government Units (LGUs), local chief executives, and other partners from different sectors who were present during the forum.
With a strategy of forming a provincial hub and 11 municipal hubs for coordination with barangay task forces, the BWI will build a movement of volunteers at the barangay level that would organize activities to create impact for 250 poor families in their barangay.
While the municipal hubs provide trainings monitor all activities, the volunteers will be involved in activities like, but not limited to, feeding, environmental drive, skills training, sports program, disaster preparedness, bayanihan challenge, among others.
To strengthen this program, the provincial government of ComVal is proposing right now an Executive Order creating the Provincial BWI Executive Board which would involve various stakeholders and key players in the implementation of the campaign.
The BWI is set to kick-off in the different municipalities of ComVal come April this year. (james labrigas/ comval ids)
