By Anthony A. Araos
A key element in helping Ifugao women with disabilities is their immediate empowerment. The provincial government must empower them politically, economically and socially, and maintain support system so they could address their needs at all times.
It’s incumbent on the officialdom, then, on incoming officials not just getting a list of said individuals in each town of the province, but to take immediate and urgent action. It would very well start with providing ample funding for livelihood ventures and counseling services.
That hundreds of folks (at the Provincial Empowerment Summit for Women with Disabilities held at the newly-built Multipurpose Building in Lagawe and countless others across Ifugao) are still being burdened by their conditions and the high cost of living concerns me deeply.
This activity has underscored the need to urgently attend to their plight. Thus, providing sufficient funds on programs and projects in order to strengthen the safety vets, and support job and income security is undeniably essential.
In a twist worthy of a soap opera, local officials were noticeably absent. So it is fallacious to suggest that the government plays no role in budget allocations on this concern. Maybe, it was a shortcut on. They have nothing to say about it all.
Many of the women with disabilities have the capability and desire to take an active part in nation-building through gainful employment. This allows many positive things to happen. Discover exactly how it works. Employment gives them a sense of dignity, more so for those who are generally under represented.
It is important to dig into their family income and accesses to social welfare programs that will ultimately improve and enhance the quality of life of women with disabilities are vital. Such an arrangement is surely tied up to jobs creation issue. When you start examining this point more seriously, a lot of things are going to be exacting. In the end, jobs ensure that their hard work is put to productive and profitable use. But that’s not always the case in poverty-stricken Ifugao. Job opportunities are few. To this day, creating purpose-driven work for them is still in my wish list. That’s the thing with a wish list. All it needs is for you to be curious to be able to say it’s all but wishful thinking.
Poverty problem is the core of the issue. When you provide them jobs, such action constitutes so much to the solution. The swiftness of doing so really matters.
Great success stories don’t just happen. Ifugao will nurture contributions of DOLE Provincial Director Isabelita Codamon.
She has consistently championed the imperative of protection, particularly for those individuals in remote villages.
“This is our office’s commitment in enhancing various services for them,” she said. “The initiatives of the DOLE show that we are on the right track to attain goals that help guide in building their character,” she added.
Codamon has been recognized for her empowering women to optimize their contribution to development. Are others taking a similar approach to this issue? Only a few. One of them is DTI Provincial Director Francis Pacio. Since my interest is also in the livelihood ventures has become wider and deeper, I can now say loudly that skills training should be prioritized. The troubling economy has revealed what many people are really thinking. Many lack the skills.
Sounds boring, doesn’t it, who cares for inclusivity? As they went through this ordeal each day, embracing inclusivity has always been challenging. I see a lot of potential in attaining this task. This can only happen if there is a government that evolves to meet the needs of women with disabilities.**
