Barangay Cherry Mobile Extends Help Across Cultures

Bursting with culture and zest, the Salam Mosque Compound in Barangay Culiat, Quezon City, could be a land of promise for its residents. The Salam Compound is a main Muslim enclave with more than 20,000 dwellers which trace their roots to five major tribes in Mindanao: the Maguindanao, Tausog, Yakan, Iranon, and Maranao. 

The residents of the said community were forced to flee from their ancestral land (Mindanao) due to some other reasons: armed conflicts, family disputes, poverty and the like. Similar to typical poor Filipinos from rural areas, many of them migrated in Manila hoping to find a greener pasture.

Barangay Cherry Mobile extended assistance for this community by providing livelihood training, free school kits (composed of backpack, notebooks, and pencils) for the Day Care pupils, and a large tent for community events/activities.

Barangay Cherry Mobile also gave Be Cool in School backpacks to the children enrolled in the daycare program of Tents of Mercy.

Barangay Cherry Mobile coordinated with Tents of Mercy, a non-government organization (NGO) working within Salam Compound that provides access to education (daycare center, scholarship grant from elementary level to college, tutorial classes, and computer classes), livelihood assistance, feeding program, medical assistance, and other family development interventions.

Tents of Mercy works closely with the community to keep hope aflame despite several challenges.

 

The retractable tent will be used for activity purposes of Tents of Mercy.

The finalists of the Best in Costume contest held during the tent turnover ceremony.

This simple act of help is a symbol of Barangay Cherry Mobile’s dedication to reach out across cultures for the sake of changing the country one community at a time. It is a simple act, but one act of kindness can create ripples that go on impacting many others.

Written by Keren Grace Tandico

Sustainable Livelihood toward Women Empowerment

Women and children are considered the most vulnerable sector of society, and more often, they are victims of all sorts of violence and basic rights deprivation (need for survival such as food, shelter, clothing, clean water, etc.). 

Creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for women will augment family income and eventually bring sufficient food on their tables, access to quality education for their kids, better health, a roof over their heads, and savings for future use. 

Barangay Cherry Mobile donated high speed sewing machines and revolving fund, and committed to provide a series of trainings for the officers to ILAW para sa Kagalingan ng mga Kababaihan at Bata. Selected members of ILAW women’s organization are given opportunity to develop knowledge, skills, and right attitude on basic entrepreneurship, project management, leadership skills enhancement, basic bookkeeping, and other related topics that would increase their capability to run their social enterprise.  

ILAW received high-speed sewing machines from Barangay Cherry Mobile as a means to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for its women.

 

The revolving fund covers necessary expenses for the implementation of the social enterprise such as purchase of raw materials.

It is expected that this project will help augment and develop the existing livelihood project of ILAW; generate funds for the organization to sustain its programs and services; develop the capacity of the organization to effectively manage and implement their social enterprise; and lastly, to contribute to the campaign for the care for environment through recycling. 

Women in the communities covered by ILAW now have another opportunity by which they could earn income for their families.

 

ILAW members are glad to have equipment for producing local items which they can sell for a living. 

A decent life for every Filipino family is what Barangay Cherry Mobile hopes for. Sharing resources for the impoverished sector of society gives meaning to the existence of the business which defines its identity as an institution. 

Caring for school kids in poor communities, Barangay Cherry Mobile also provided school supplies for the children catered by ILAW.

Written by Regine Penaflor-Anacay