“Para Sa Masanag Nga Buwas Damlag!”
- May 2, 2017
- 4 min read
“Out with Family Planning, In with future Planning” – this line has always been the inspiration of the STEP UP Project since Day 1. The project and the people behind it want to inspire the youth not only to plan for a brighter future, but also to pursue big dreams instead of planning for child spacing and contraceptive use. But one major setback of this idea is poverty which almost always rips the dreams of most teens specifically going to college and pursuing the careers that they want. Because of poverty, some teens tend to think that they’re already at a dead end and there’s no other plan but to work, marry and settle down with what they have. This is why one of the goals of the project is to present alternatives to the teens and inspire them to plan for a promising future.
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In order to this, one of the recently conducted events of the project is the Buwas Damlag fair last April 29th held at the barangay plaza of Cag-an. The fair’s theme is “para sa masanag nga buwas damlag” which means “for a brighter future” and thus the name, Buwas Damlag. Before the opening of the fair, there was also Dalagan Para sa Cag-an, a fun run which started from the farthest sitio, sitio Tangkong, and ended in the barangay plaza where the fair was opened. The fun run had two categories – teens and parents. Cash prizes were given to the first three teens and first three parents who finished the run and consolation prizes were also given to the next ten teens and parents who finished the run.
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Dalagan Para sa Cag-an was then followed by a basic self-defense workshop which was open for everyone. The self-defense workshop was led by the Philippine National Police of Anilao and aimed to empower the teens and teach them basic self defense that they can use in cases of rape and physical assault. The idea of the workshop started as an intervention to the increasing rape cases in the barangay.
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After the self defense workshop, a small program was also held to welcome everyone in the fair. The welcoming remarks were given by one of the barangay kagawads, and it was immediately followed by a message from the municipal mayor, and finally, the opening of the fair. The opening and ribbon cutting was led by the Municipal Mayor, Mayor Nathalie Ann Debuque, and the barangay officials. The main goal of the fair was to present alternatives for the teens who cannot afford to pursue higher education. There were booths which presented scholarships from the Provincial Capitol of Iloilo. The Alternative Learning System (ALS) and TESDA were also invited in the fair to provide more choices for the teens who cannot sacrifice another four years of higher education. Livelihood programs of the barangay were also presented not just for the teens but also for their parents who would want to earn extra income. Job offerings were also introduced by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Public Employment Service Office (PESO). Free general check-up was also given by the Rural Health Unit of Anilao and was open to everyone. Also, in order to make the fair even more fun, there was a food booth which offers food for free, a photo booth and a freedom board for the teens to express themselves.
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Simultaneous with the fair was the Hinampang sa Cag-an, a series of team games to promote camaraderie and sportsmanship among the teens and the parents in the barangay. The games were the amazing egg throw for couple parents, group jumping rope, sack race and tug of war. To make it more interesting, there were also team games which were played by the teens against the parents. Prizes such as grocery packages were given to the winning teams.
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Before formally ending the fair, there was also Lamunay, a boodle fight open for everyone in the barangay. The boodle fight was prepared on top of banana leaves and was about 5 – 6 meters long. There were pancit bihon, rice, boiled eggs, hotdogs and grilled fish.
The fair ended with a small program wherein the winners of each event were awarded, and the distribution of relief clothes to the residents of the barangay courtesy of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). There was also an oath taking for the teens and the parents to remind them of their responsibilities as advocates for the prevention of teenage pregnancy in the barangay and the whole municipality of Anilao. The closing remarks were thereby given by the Vice Mayor of Anilao, Mayor Ma. Theresa Debuque. Small tokens from the team behind The STEP UP Project were also given to the existing sports teams in the barangay which includes baseball bat and balls, a volleyball ball and a basketball ball.
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One very promising outcome of the fair was the interest of the parents and the teens in attending a TESDA class. Aside from that, there were also teens who signed up for scholarships offered by the Province of Iloilo. Although the scholarships presented in the fair were just one of the many opportunities that the teens can take, the important thing is that they’ve known that offices like the Provincial Capitol, TESDA, ALS, PESO and DOLE among many others can help them in planning and molding a brighter future that they want.
This has been The STEP UP Project para sa sanag nga Buwas Damlag sa kabataan sang barangay Cag-an!
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