The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office Caraga, through the Sectoral Unit, successfully launched the Strategic Helpdesks for Information, Education, Livelihood and Other Developmental Interventions (SHIELD) Against Child Labor Program through a MOA Signing with the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Barobo, Surigao del Sur (SDS), November 28, 2023.
Barobo municipal mayor Hon. Joey Pama, Barobo MSWDO Marilou Godito, and DSWD Field Office Caraga Protective Services Division Chief Jessie Catherine B. Aranas executed the MOA signing ceremony. Hon. Pama underscores that this feat is a development and a challenge accepted by the LGU.
“Dako nga prebilihiyo sa Barobo nga gihatagan ta ug program nga mahimong interbensyon para ma undang ang child labor. Kitang mga ginikanan atong katungod nga pa eskwelahon ug hatagan ug maayong panglawas atong mga anak. With this, i accept this program and challenge everyone especially the Barangay Local Government Unit na atong sugpuon ang child labor dinhi sa atong munisipyo,” Hon. Pama said.
On the other hand, Aranas ensures that the cry against Child Labor continues. “Kami sa DSWD kauban atong mga partner agencies, padayon sa pagserbisyo ug paghatag ug programa para sa atong mga bata. While we still have so much to do, we have come so far, and we can go even further, and we will have a community free from child labor,“ she said.
Along with the signing, DSWD extended Educational Assistance worth Php5,000 to 31 former child laborers.
They also received food packs from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), School Bags from the Office of the Vice President (OVP), and Hygiene Kits and School Supplies from the Surigao del Sur Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO).
The mission of SHIELD Against Child Labor focuses on strengthening efforts at the local level, including establishing help desks and a local registry on child labor in which referral mechanisms and convergence of support services are embedded.In addition, advocacy and capacity building to increase awareness and capacities of the clientele group and the duty-bearers to enable them to provide appropriate and immediate interventions to child laborers and their families.
DSWD, through its Sectoral Unit and other partner stakeholders, intensifies its campaign to eliminate child labor and further strengthen its commitment to delivering and implementing SHIELD.
