30 January 2007
Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—A PRO-ject that would equip typhoon victims here with skills and loans for small businesses was launched yesterday.
Called “Bangon Bicol,” the project is a joint effort of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Filipino Hairdressers’ Cooperative and this city’s local government.
Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the 20-day project in Albay and Camarines Sur would benefit victims of Supertyphoon “Reming” by giving them alternative forms of livelihood while they waited for the rehabilitation of their farms.
The training courses offered in the project for women, men and youth were home care or housekeeping, hotel and restaurant services, food technology, massage, haircutting, computer and cell phone repair, and commercial bread-making.
Materials were also turned over to the local government yesterday such as livelihood kits and equipment.
“The long-term impact of this project is that we would create a lot of entrepreneurs. The people would no longer be employed but would run their own businesses,” Reyes said.
Wilson Serrano, 30, of Barangay Victory Village in this city, gladly received, while sitting on his wheelchair, a red bag full of livelihood materials for hairdressing.
He said he was grateful for the new hope given to him by the “Bangon Bicol” project and that through it, he could now help his family recover from the disaster despite his disability.
Serrano had polio when he was 2 years old, causing the deformity of his legs and feet that made him unable to walk.
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