BUTUAN CITY – The Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K) Program funded seven (7) more associations in Agusan del Sur.  In the recently held convergence caravan in Patin-ay, Prosperidad, the Self-Employment Assistance Kaunlaran Associations or SKAs received a total P945, 000. DSWD director for the Caraga region, Mercedita P. Jabagat and Congresswoman Evelyn Plaza Mellana distributed the checks to each SKA president.

Self-Employment Assistance –Kaunlaran (SEA –K) Program is a community-based capability building and livelihood assistance program directed towards the poor and disadvantaged family/group that involves the provision of non-collateral, non-interest bearing capital assistance to the economically/entrepreneurial poor with a fund recovery feature. The program is managed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in coordination with the Local Government Units (LGUs).

It aims to improve the capability of the economically active /entrepreneurial poor who have no access to formal lending institutions in transforming their labor resources into income through the creation of micro-enterprises, thereby resulting in their socio-economic upliftment above the marginal status.  Integral to the concept of the SEA-K Program is the strategy of inculcating SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY among SEA-K beneficiaries to return, on installment basis, the CAPITAL ASSISTANCE, so that other clients can benefit from it.

The SEA-K, as a community-based livelihood program, complements the Pantawid Pamilya and KALAHI-CIDSS programs in terms of enhancing the socio-economic skills of the beneficiaries by providing capital assistance and engaging them to form into community organizations for entrepreneurial activities which shall augment their household income.  It also promotes capability building of the community members through the conduct of basic business management training. ### (Social Marketing Unit)