Photo shows: Manila Water Foundation President Ferdinand dela Cruz handing over P200,000-seed capital to Southville 7 Site 3 Consumers Cooperative Chairman Jo Penacilla.
Manila Water Foundation, the social and environmental arm of East Zone concessionaire Manila Water Company, recently provided a P200,000-seed capital to Southville 7 Site 3 Consumers Cooperative in Sto. Tomas, Calauan, Laguna to assist member-families of the cooperative in their livelihood program. The financial assistance is part the foundation’s Kabuhayan Para sa Barangay Program and will be used to support the school supplies store and printing services business of the cooperative.
Most of the residents in Southville 7 Site 3 were relocated from Pasig City after Typhoon Ondoy left them homeless. The livelihood assistance is the latest among several support programs that the community had received from Manila Water Foundation. In 2011, the foundation facilitated the provision of clean, safe, and affordable drinking water for the community that used to source its water needs from a nearby spring. With water service now available, the foundation also complemented this with an educational program focusing on the need to protect these water services and the health hazards posed by unreliable water sources.
According to Jo Penacilla, Cooperative Chairman, the assistance they received will greatly benefit not only the cooperative but more importantly the many residents of Southville 7. “Now, our children have easy access to school supplies as the store is just a short distance walk from our homes”, says Penacilla. “There are hardly any school supplies stores or printing service centers that are available in our community. Before, we would need to take a ride to purchase these entailing additional expenses, sometimes even bigger than the cost of the school materials,” Penacilla recalls. “We will forever be thankful to the Manila Water Foundation for choosing our community and giving us the opportunity to improve the plight of our residents”.
Ferdinand dela Cruz, President of Manila Water Foundation, expressed that the support to Southville 7 is part of the vision of the foundation to be an instrument in uplifting the quality of life of marginalized communities by implementing livelihood programs and providing financial assistance. “The foundation merely offers the means for creating good beginnings, but it is the beneficiaries who would need to continuously work and make the seeds flourish. The loan will be paid in 24 months and will then be used to help other cooperatives. We envision Southville 7 Cooperative to be an example to others who are challenged by a similar situation. Soon it will be their turn to inspire and answer the needs of others,” dela Cruz adds.