Adelfa Sales, a resident and community volunteer of Barangay Magsaysay, Loreto, Dinagat Islands, smiles with evident relief as she gently hand washes her laundry. She fills in a pail with water from one of the tapstands of their gravity-driven water system community sub-project. Some years ago, doing this regular chore is something that she and other residents of her village would have loathed to do because of scarce water supply.

Since Magsaysay is an island barangay, a sustainable water supply would prove to be a challenge for the community. They would find themselves frustrated everytime they turn on their faucets with water dripping so slowly.  Because of this, the residents would sail off with their pump-boats on a 30-minute excursion to Barangay Helene, a neighboring island barangay. They had to endure this just to get to a place they call “Kabadjangan”, their nearest source of abundant water supply. Others, would opt to wake up before sunrise and set off on an almost two-hour foot journey through the jungle trail to reach the same place and fetch some water. But when the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) program came into their barangay, the community found an opportunity where they can address their needs as the program uses the Community Driven Development (CDD) strategy.

Kalahi-CIDSS’ CDD strategy provides a platform where communities are made to identify their most dire needs, propose a solution to answer these and implement the sub-projects themselves. Thankfully, Magsaysay was one of the barangays selected for prioritization of which their proposed sub-project would be funded through the program. Now, with 16 tapstands installed in their barangay, about 88 households are now enjoying an improved water supply of which they utilize for domestic uses and daily consumption.