Valenzuela social welfare department intensifies OSY programs

VALENZUELA CITY, Jan.17 (PIA) – To foster the development of the out-of-school and disadvantaged youth, the City Social welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) revives the Pagasa Youth Association of the Philippines (PYAP)- Valenzuela City chapter.

PYAP is a nationally-federated organization of disadvantaged youth on regional, provincial, municipal or city, and barangay levels. Through the years, it has been an affiliate of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in promoting the welfare of out-of-school youth between 15 to 24 years old.

In Valenzuela City, PYAP is a program which will serve as a strategy to provide a medium to tackle the condition of the out-of-school youth in the city and to come up with solutions to address their issues and concerns. A multi-sectoral plan geared towards their total socio-economic, physical, psychological and spiritual development has been laid-out for implementation.

The CSWDO, the Department of Education – Valenzuela, the Valenzuela City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (VADAC), and the Public Employment Services Office (PESO), together with partner non-government organizations (NGO) join forces to make this endeavor a success.

One of the program’s main components is the tracking and charting of the out-of-school youths in the city. “This is the first major step to fully help out this sector which is vulnerable to become Children in Conflict With the Law and Children at Risk,” CSWDO head Dorothy Evangelista said.

The program will be implemented with 200 beneficiary OSYs in eight pilot barangays of Malinta, Karuhatan, Parada, Paso De Blas, Mapulang Lupa, Veinte Reales, Lingunan, and Marulas, with initial allotted budget of one million pesos coming from the office of Coun. Tony Espiritu for District 1, and the CSWDO for both Districts 1 and 2. More funding support pledges are pouring in from local public servants and NGOs.

PYAP-Valenzuela City Chapter aims to contribute to the moral advancement of their personal life through guidance and counselling in making responsible choices and decisions. “Our goal is to redeem the disadvantaged youth from the negative consequences of life and to make them self-reliant, responsible and valuable citizens that can contribute to the economic development of their family and to the progress of the city and the country,” Evangelista added.

Interviews and assessment are currently being carried out to assess the real need of the initial beneficiaries. Access to formal education, vocational or technical skills training through DepEd’s ALS and PESO’s programs that will qualify them for open employment, which are readily available to them. Interview and assessment is important to determine what they really need and qualified of doing vis-a-vis what they want. “For example, we usually interview 15 to 16-year old beneficiaries who want to work, but as much as possible, we want to send them back to school because that is what suits them most,” Evangelista explained.

CSWDO is, likewise, utilizing the Self Employment Assistance or SEA – Kaunlaran para sa Kabataan. SEA-K is a capability building program which aims to enhance the socio- economic skills of deprived families through organization of community-based associations for entrepreneurial development. It has a track record which spans 13 years, outliving other programs of the same nature.

Level 1 – Micro-Enterprise will be made available to PYAV beneficiaries. It aims to grant them with timely access to credit and development opportunities. A SEA-K grantee will be provided with technical assistance and an average seed capital of a minimum of P3,000.

“The city government is hoping for a domino effect on this program component. When they become successful young entrepreneurs, they can return the favor to their out of school friends whom they can influence to try the program out,” Ms. Evangelista said.

Children who currently are, or recently were, in conflict with the law or at risk will be given special attention to prevent them from going back to risky behavior that will expose them to drug abuse, alcohol and other vices, teen-age pregnancies, and even sexually transmitted infections.

Last Christmas vacation, PESO has able to place 50 PYAP Valenzuela beneficiaries on the Christmas SPES program. “They were able to work for 10 days with minimum pay, soliciting books for the city’s book drive project. We are also hoping to accommodate more PYAP beneficiaries for the Summer SPES program,” PESO head Luningning Martin said.

Education and values formation are integral part of the program. In this way, their needs could be assessed and addressed objectively to re-integrate them back to the society where they can eventually be good influences to their peers and be important players in nation-building. “The PYAV program is one of the city’s contributions to the aim of meeting the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs by year 2015,” City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian said in a statement. (Valenzuela City Government/PIA-NCR/akag)