In the historic municipality of Barcelona, Sorsogon, a social movement has been tearing down the norms. The poor women, who used to be voiceless, powerless, and vulnerable, have been working together to escape from poverty.

Bicol Center for Community Development (BCCD), in partnership with Kindernothilfe (KNH), facilitates the formation and strengthening of Self-Help Groups (SHeG). A SHeG consists of 10-20 women from the same geographic location. Coming from economic Classes C or D, they are considered to be poorest of the poor. The Self-Help Approach (SHA) aims to make long-lasting economic, social, and political impact on the lives of the individual members and their respective communities. BCCD aims to help poor women help themselves.

From the main market of the town of Libmanan, it will take about 30 minutes of boat riding along the river in order to reach the island of Barangay Malbogon. The whole island is the barangay. The residents’ main livelihood in that area is agriculture. Their rice plantations were located at the center of the island because that was the land area high tide doesn’t reach.

Malbogon used to face several problems regarding agriculture. First was their location and how they were flooded during high tides and storms; second was how the traders were taking advantage of their situation during wet season when most of their rice were damaged because of the rain; third was how they were supposed to dry their rice during wet seasons; fourth was the high price of binhi or the rice seedlings for planting; and fifth was the fact that their practice of organic farming has not paid off.

The crystal clear water of Ragay Gulf would entice anyone who would have the chance to see its beauty. The intricate sculpture of every rock formation in the gulf are truly treasures of our fortunate country.

Sadly, these treasures are now being threatened by human activities. Dynamite fishing and commercial fishing are widespread within the area. Commercial fishing boats are using nets with small holes thus catching small fish too. Also, when their nets are stuck in a coral reef, they would free their nets by dropping a huge aluminum container filled with solid cement, crushing the reef with its impact. Marine natural resources and small-time fisherfolk are greatly affected by these activities.

“Dati nung wala pang CAPIN (Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention Network), malaki na problema namin sa child abuse cases. Immediately after magkaroon, biglang dumami lalo. Pero normal lang yun.”(Before CAPIN, child abuse cases were a big problem. Immediately after we established it, the figures bloated. That’s normal.)

“Normal” would not be the appropriate term for it if one did not know the whole story, but Ms. Lucille De Leon, Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer (MSWDO) of Sta. Cruz, Laguna, was quick to move on to the next sentence:

“Normal kasi biglang naging aware sila na may masusumbungan. Kaya dumami. Ngayon kumonti na kasi takot na silang gumawa ng mali sa mga bata. May masusumbungan na, alam na nila na may nagbabantay.” (It’s normal because there was a sudden awareness among the community that there was a place to report cases to. That’s why the figures increased. The number of cases now is not as high as before because they’re afraid to abuse these children. They’re aware that there’s a watchdog now.)