A check amounting to P15,000 was recently turned over by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) to the three blind graduates of the Area Vocational Rehabilitation Center ll (AVRC) in Labangon, Cebu City, a government facility serving persons with disabilities (PWDs).
The amount was released to Robin Malgi from Tanjay City, Negros Oriental; Rodrigo Mondido from Sibonga town, northern Cebu; and Julius Ramos from Borongan, Samar.
It will be used as a seed fund for their therapeutic massage service, which is their major source of income.
Eighty percent of the amount will be repaid to the government within two years at P400 per month.
The amount paid will again be used by the DSWD to assist other persons in need or associations that want to avail of the same assistance under the same SEA-K scheme.
With the DSWD’s Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K) program, these PWDs will be able to finance their income-generating skills and projects to augment their income.
Aside from financing small-scale business enterprises, if the project will be managed and run well, these individuals can re-avail the loan at a bigger value, which will cover assistance for basic shelter and home improvement.
DSWD-7 Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre encouraged the beneficiaries to make good use of the seed capital and repay their dues on time so other groups can use the rollback amount.