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.
The formation of a SHeG starts by teaching women the benefits of the SHA. To alleviate poverty, the women learn to help themselves by affirming their choices, rights, and opportunities, and by fighting discrimination, disparity, domination, displacement, de-humanization etc. Afterwards, they decide whether to start their own SHeG or join an existing one. The community facilitator then gives them a modular training, a step by step guide on values formation and skills development. To typify their independence, SHeGs create their own policies. As a group, they decide when to meet, how much their weekly savings will be, and who will be the designated bookkeeper, moderator, and representative.
Having weekly savings trains the members to be financially disciplined. The SHeG’s savings fund is loaned to their own members or approved individuals outside of their group, to be returned with an interest which the group has decided on. They borrow money for various reasons. Some borrow to get their houses fixed. Some borrow when their kids do not have pocket money for school. Some loan to start their own business or sustain their existing one. They start their own sari-sari store, piggery, karinderia, and other businesses. They are not only housewives; they are businesswomen.
“Pag wala akong pambili ng feeds, nangungutang ako. Pag nabenta ko na yung baboy ko, babalik ko na yung inutang ko. Nakakapaayos din ako ng bahay, nakakabili ng gamit sa bahay (If I have no money to buy some feeds, I loan. After I have sold my pig, I return the money I borrowed. I have also gotten our house fixed, and I have bought some furniture.),” said Rhea Galino, a member of a SHeG in Brgy. Baagate in Barcelona.
The SHA hopes to help women establish their role in decision-making in their respective families. Because most of them are housewives, the husbands are the ones who earn for their family. Having their own savings and income, women now feel they share the authority to make decisions; they have discovered their voice.
One of the goals of SHA is to help women break their everyday routine of staying at home. By being a part of a SHeG, they get to go out and socialize with the other members. Instead of keeping to themselves, they start sharing their problems in the group. They begin to feel that they are not alone.
“Pag member ka ng SHeG, nakakahalubilo ka sa ibang tao, nakakadagdag ng self-confidence (If you are a member of a SHeG, you get to interact with other people. It adds to one’s self-confidence.),” said Mary Ann Gamas, a member of Working Girls SHeG. “Dati nasa bahay lang ako, hindi ka makalabas labas, hindi ka makakapagsocialize, tapos yung ganito, malaman mo na pwede pala to, sa bahay ka lang pero pag linggo magkakaroon kayo ng bonding, kung ano mga problema niyo napaguusapan. (Before, I did not leave the house, I did not socialize. Then I learned that even though you have to stay at home most days, on Sundays you can bond with the other members, and you’ll get to talk about your problems.)”
In the municipality of Barcelona alone, 72 SHeGs consisting of 892 women have formed seven Cluster Level Associations (CLA). Each CLA is made up of six to ten SHeGs. Spanning 18 out of 26 baranggays in the municipality, the CLAs organize community based projects. Being a significant part of the population, the CLAs have a bigger voice than the individual SHeGs, and they are able to lobby for specific projects. In Tabing Ilog in Brgy. San Antonio, the CLA had successfully lobbied the Local Government Unit (LGU) for a cemented foot bridge, therefore solving one of the major problems in their community.
Having been informed of the positive impact of the SHeGs, the LGU of Barcelona has started supporting the SHeGs by giving them additional capital. In the span of two years, they have been given a total of P200,000 by the LGU.
“The government only came in nung nakatayo na sila, so tinayo nila ang sarili nila on their own. We just supported it by infusing some capitalization (The government only came in when they were established already, so they established themselves on their own. We just supported them by infusing some capitalization.),” said Mayor Manuel Laurio Fortes Jr.
The poor women in Barcelona, with the help of their SHeGs and BCCD, have discovered their true potential. They have realized that women are not just “pambahay”, entirely dependent on their husbands to sustain their families. They are no longer voiceless, powerless, and vulnerable. They are now capable, empowered, and independent.
Katryn Anne Uytiepo has a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Communication from De La Salle University, Manila. She’s interested in writing, reading and graphic design.