Butuan City- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Caraga conducted on November 18, 2014 at Amontay Beach Resort, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte a training for municipal database encoders and area coordinators about the my Structured Query Language (mySQL) database system used by the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services- National Community-Driven Development Program (KALAHI CIDSS-NCDDP).

This capability-building activity is facilitated by the monitoring and evaluation (M and E) unit of KALAHI CIDSS- NCDDP, and is participated by the municipal database encoders, area coordinators, community development officers, and some staff of the Regional Project Management Office (RPMO).

“The participants of this training are program implementers who are responsible in data entry, quality assurance, and processing,” said Edward John Ty, M and E specialist.

Ty also shared that the said training is primarily conducted to orient the participants on the Program’s information management system, and to enhance their skills in using the MySQL database.

DSWD-XIII Regional Director Minda Brigoli stated during her welcome message that the expansion of the Kalahi-CIDSS project into a national program entailed an increase of covered municipalities, and demanded an amplified monitoring and evaluation system.

“To meet these demands, the M and E unit of the KALAHI CIDSS- NCDDP continues to develop new activity forms, tools, and database system to record, process, and report the Program’s gains and successes,” disclosed Brigoli.

It was also reported that the said training is of three (3) batches since the Program covers 46 municipalities in Caraga for 2014 implementation.

The activity in Amontay which is the first batch was joined in by sixteen (16) municipalities namely RTR, Jabonga, Las Nieves, Veruela, Sta. Josefa, San Francisco (AdS), Barobo, Lingig, Hinatuan, Buenavista, Santiago, Cagwait, Lianga, Marihatag, and Bayabas.

The next two (2) batches of trainings will be done in Surigao City within this month.

KALAHI CIDSS- NCDDP is the expansion into a national scale of operations of the community-driven development (CDD) approach, which was tried and proven effective by the Kalahi-CIDSS project. The CDD strategy puts power back in the hands of the people by giving them the opportunity to make informed decisions on locally identified options for development and manage resources to implement sub-projects that address needs identified by communities themselves. ###(EUNICE G. MONTAOS/Social Marketing Unit/DSWD Field Office Caraga)