The Manila Times

Families get DoLE-7 biz starter kits

PARENTS of child laborers from Mandaue City and Negros Oriental who qualified for a P1.2-million livelihood assistance are now preparing for their respective business undertakings, the Department of Labor and Employment in Central Visayas (DoLE-Region 7) said on Thursday.

Undersecretary Victor del Rosario, concurrent DoLE-Region 7 regional director, said in a statement the recipients of the livelihood starter kits (LSK) recently released by the agency are parents of children who were profiled as “child laborers.”

Del Rosario said about 30 parents of the child laborers from Mandaue City and 12 more from Negros Oriental are about to begin their projects after the department released around P1.2 million to fund their respective livelihood endeavors.

He said that in Mandaue City alone, each beneficiary received P15,000 to P25,000 for their LSKs collectively amounting to over P633,000.

The beneficiaries submitted business proposals ranging from barbecue vending, frozen food distribution and carinderia (eatery) to street-food selling.

“Beneficiaries come from Barangay Alang-Alang, where the incidence of child labor has been noted since the DoLE-Region 7’s intensive child labor profiling activities started,” del Rosario said in a statement.

In Negros Oriental, 12 of the 97 members of the Santa Catalina Environmental Kabanikanhan Kalambuan Association Inc. are parents of profiled child laborers in Talalak, a village of the Santa Catalina town.

The association received P600,000 to fund its cattle fattening project.

The members, mostly farmers, have high hopes that the assistance they received from the government would not only help increase their income but would also provide employment to their constituents.

Aside from receiving financial assistance, beneficiaries also availed of a one-year coverage of a group personal accident insurance with the Government Service Insurance System, the premium of which is shouldered by DoLE.

“We also see to it that beneficiaries are socially and business ready. Depending on their needs and requirements, the DoLE also provided the training and orientation on simple bookkeeping, simple records keeping and business planning, among others,” del Rosario said, even as he urged beneficiaries to put to good use whatever help they got from DoLE.

He enjoined the recipients as well as the agency’s partners in the implementation of the projects to closely keep track of the status and progress of the livelihood activities.

Business Times

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2022-05-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://digitaledition.manilatimes.net/article/281844352229451

The Manila Times