It was from her neighbor that Joeme S. Delaganar, of Esperanza Agusan del Sur, 52 years old first heard that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provides capital assistance to the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries. Not later then, she became a member of the Bird of Paradise SEA-K Association and received P10,000 from DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program. She invested the money into swine production. She started with two sows but knew that they will be better off not depending on the income they will get from the two heads alone.

So, Felix, Joemes’ husband met with a staff of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. The fruit of the said discussion was another venture – a fishpond. The Municipal Agriculture Office of the municipality of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur provided the tilapia fingerlings while the provincial office of the Department of Agriculture provided the feeds. Felix worked alone to realize the pond and finished it after two months.

The Delaganar Family has already sold a total of P10,000 from the tilapia and P20,000 from the piglets of the sows. Now, the two sows have 19 piglets and the couple plans to have more.

Because of their hard work and determination, Felix and Joeme have not only reaped financial benefits from their livelihood but have also gained admiration as their neighbors consider them their models.

The  Convergence strategy of the government ensured that the complementation of the all its poverty-reduction programs are working at the community level.

 The Self- Employment Assistance Para sa Kaunlaran (SEA-K) Integrated program is an investment capital. It has a goal of establishing community-based, self-managed and sustainable credit facilities to enable the economically active poor to have continued access to credit.