CEBU CITY, Oct. 15 (PIA) -- Parents of child laborers in Central Visayas have started acquainting themselves with what it is like to engage in business.
Parents of identified child laborers in the region have started undergoing trainings specifically on project proposal crafting, business plan making, possible market for business, business operations, and simple bookkeeping.
“Learning and acquiring new skills on how to do business is necessary to sustain one’s livelihood project and efficiently deal with the challenges that it might go through,” said DOLE-7 Regional Director Salome Siaton.
Siaton said these are the things that would-be livelihood beneficiaries of DOLE must learn to run a business.
One of the priority groups of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) are parents and guardians of child laborers.
The provision of a legitimate economic activity to the parents and/or guardians of child laborers is seen as a viable tool to help minimize or if not eradicate totally the prevalence of child labor in the region.
According to Cebu Provincial Field Office Head Vivencio Lagahid, more than 200 beneficiaries in the City of Carcar are now waiting for the approval of their livelihood business proposal.
“Of course, prior to all of these, we also extended to them technical assistance in the form of trainings,” Lagahid said.
Lagahid added that once their business proposal is approved, the accredited co-partner of DOLE in implementing the said project would be the Conta Manghupi Farmers Association.
In Labogon, Mandaue City, livelihood orientations and technical trainings were also given to the parents of child laborers profiled in the area.
According to Tri-City Field Office Head Emmanuel Ferrer, it was necessary that they understood the program and the set of responsibilities that will go with it should their proposal be granted.
“As of now, their project is ready and waiting for approval,” he added.
In 2019, DOLE-7 has profiled over 18,000 child laborers in Central Visayas with Negros Oriental tallying the highest at 10,497.
“The DOLE’s child labor profiling is suspended for the time being this year due to the pandemic. The Department continues with its initiatives in minimizing the incidence of child labor in the region by providing livelihood projects to families of child laborers,” said Siaton, who added that in that way, children will not have to work anymore just to help their families get by each day.
Dubbed as KASAMA or Kabuhayan para sa Magulang ng Batang Manggagawa, the program hopes to contribute to the prevention and elimination of child labor by providing families of child laborers access to decent livelihood opportunities for enhanced income. (jsme/PIA7/Cebu/DOLE-7)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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