Metamorphosis_Kalahi-CIDSS Compendium 2015

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They would even keep their comments to themselves because they are afraid to be criticized
in a negative way. Manong Jun said that through the activities under the Community
Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC), they were taught how to voice out their feelings, and
in a very simple way, they gained their confidence to share their comments and suggestions
during barangay assemblies.
The CEAC is the five-stage process followed by the program implementers, including
the community volunteers, to train them in the community-driven development (CDD)
approach, and to prepare them for their next year of implementation.
Manong Jun also saw the importance of a community coming together, especially during
the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum (MIBF) where they have to vote for the sub-projects
that need to be prioritized. He wanted other communities to realize the importance of the
CEAC, the same way that he did. “Para kenyak dagiti naadal mi ijay CEAC ket isu ti haan
nga maawan wenno madadael. Dagiti sub-projects nga naaramid ket addan tu iti panawen
nga madadael met laeng. Ket nu dumteng tu, ammo min ti aramiden min gapo ta naadal min
[diyay process]. Isu daytoy iti kayat ko met nga maadal iti sabali, kayat ko nga maawatan
da, nga ipursige da kuma nga masuro diyay process ken isu ti itanek da iti panpanunot da,
ta isu daytoy ti talaga nga makatulong kanyada,” (For me, everything that we have learned
from the CEAC will never be gone or damaged. Time will come and the sub-projects may
be damaged or destroyed. If that time comes, we already know what to do because we were
taught with the process. I want other people to understand this, to pursue to learn the
process, and to keep it in their minds, because this will be the one that could help them), he
said in a very hoping voice.
Manong Jun also emphasized that helping the communities to uplift their lives also means
making them realize the value of self-reliance. Manong Jun believes that he will be able
to help change the lives of the people because he has God with him. “Nu ayatem ni Apo
Dios ket nalaklakam nga maaramid iti trabaho ta tulungan naka. Masapol nga ayatem iti
padam nga tao, ta makita nga ay-ayatem met ni apo Diyos. Ken nu ayatem iti padam nga tao,
tumulong ka, haan lang nga iti spiritual need da wenno ketdi pati pay amin nga maitulong
mo iti panagbaliw iti biag da. Ta ‘what you give to others will be given back to you by God
twice as much’. (If you love God above all, you will be able to do your work easier because
he will help you. You have to love other people, because it reflects your love for God. And
if you love other people you have to help them, not just for their spiritual need, but to help
them uplift their lives. Because ‘what you give to others will be given back to you by God
twice as much.’¬)
Manong Jun is now assigned as one of the Community Empowerment Facilitators at Tineg,
Abra. Tineg is one of the municipalities to be implementing the project under the KALAHI
CIDSS-NCDDP, the expansion of the CDD strategy into a national scale.