By Jocelyn P Alvarez
ZAMBOANGA CITY - How
well are the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)recipients doing, a year
after being enrolled in the program as beneficiaries? What are the changes and
progress in their lives and living conditions? These are but few of the
questions the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) here would
like to know to determine the impact of this government poverty intervention
program in the lives of the marginalized sector.
There are close to 288,000 4Ps household-beneficiaries in the
entire region 9and the social welfare department,is currently conductingan
enhanced Social Welfare and Development Indicators (SWDI)
assessment to determine as to what extent these
families have improved their lives based on their economic sufficiency and
stability, as well as their social adequacy.
The SWDI
Regional Director Zenaida Arevalo said the SWDI is a tool being
used by the department toassess the level of well-being of the
4Ps families- from survival, subsistence, and self-sufficiency.
Arevalo averred,
SWDI assessment is essential so that needed interventions, which may include
employment facilitation, skills training and provision of livelihood
opportunities can be carefully and efficiently planned out.
The SWDI
monitoring scheme isa yearly assessment applied to 4Ps grantees.
Conduct of the SWDI
As of early September, there are already 35,686 households
assessed and evaluated, quite a long way to go putting to consideration the
288,000 target of 4Ps grantees for assessment until October 20, 2015.
Assessment is done through actual visitation and conduct of interview
by DSWD’s field workers, municipal / city links, community empowerment facilitators
and project development officers.
In the SWDI, families are being evaluated in terms of their
economic sufficiency and social adequacy.
In economic sufficiency, families are being assessed based on
the employability skills of members including employment and salary, source of
income, membership to social security and access to financial institutions.
Meanwhile, in social adequacy, familiesare
assessedbased on the members’ health condition, nutrition and education, access
to safe drinking water, sanitary toilet facility, house construction and
ownership, and social issues awareness.
