Corporate Social Responsibility

B.E.S.T. success story of 4Ps beneficiaries in Davao City

May 29, 2019

A lot can happen over a short span of time.

More than a year ago, on April 18, aspiring electricians of Barangay Indangan in Davao City became full-fledged experts after graduating from Davao Light’s Project B.

E.

S.

T. (Basic Electrician Skills Training).

Project B.

E.

S.

T. is a joint project of AboitizPower subsidiary Davao Light and the Aboitiz Foundation in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)-Davao City and the Department of Social Works and Development (DSWD)-XI.

A year after their graduation, the beneficiaries teamed up and established the Barangay Indangan Electrician SLP Association (BIESA) and opened their own hardware store.

The 19 beneficiaries, who are also part of the government’s 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), have become the co-owners of the hardware store situated within the premises of the Indangan Barangay Hall.

To jumpstart their hardware business, the DSWD-XI awarded the group P285,000 as seed money under the Sustainable Livelihood Program.. Apart from being emerging entrepreneurs, they are also the barangay's on-call electricians should the community have concerns with their electrical connections at home.

This is a good example of how providing opportunities for development help disadvantaged members of the community alleviate their living conditions through skills training. Great success stories happen when the government and private institutions work together to reach out and extend help to those in need.

These electricians will remain hopeful as they have been armed with a complete set of skills, knowledge, and grit to improve their status in life.

“Our completion to Davao Light's Project B.E.S.T was a stepping stone for us to improve our lives. It has honed our skills and knowledge when working with electricity and has opened a lot of doors like accepting electrical services where we can practice our skills as electricians and now running an electrical supply business.” said Ms. Benjily A. Villanueva, one of the female electricians and co-owners of the hardware store.

“Maningkamot mi ug samot para ang among gamay na tindahan, mulambo pa gyud puhon (We will try even harder so that our small store will become even more prosperous in the future),” Villanueva added.