Chances For Better Tomorrow: Know More About The Scholar-Moms Of CDO
By: Ma. Alexandrea Venilda Portillo
Andam Eba testimony 1.mp4Beneath her mask and beyond her pacific personality, lies the story of a warrior mom who strives to make meet ends not only for her self but for her children amidst the trying times brought by the pandemic.
Maricel Rule, a mother of 3 and a scholar-mother who fights with the harsh realities of life hoping that someday, she could stand firmly and provide for the needs of their children. Just like her, a lot of scholar-mothers are now facing the threat of a bleak future. Economic empowerment for these scholar-moms seem to be unreachable since majority of them are solo mothers and were identified by the World Health Organization during the pandemic as the sector who suffers the most in providing for the needs of their children. In addition , 87% of them were identified as poor base on their family’s monthly income and 60% of them solely dependent to their scholarship allowance. Not to mention, 90% of them doesn’t have income-generating business. Yet amidst of these numbers, they posses potentials and business skills such as in communication, sales, budget planning, decision making and team-building. In Andam Higala, we always recognize the empowerment of women and we then asked ourselves-- “How do we make these women economically empowered and at the same time retain their scholarship status?”
As an answer to the challenge of economic empowerment, Andam Higala in partnership with the CDO City Scholarships Office initiated its Andam Eba 2.0 project which is a financial-enabling and capability-building program for 53 scholar-moms of Cagayan de Oro who were assessed by the City Scholarships Office as vulnerable in this time of pandemic and are mostly affected by the down-ward slope of the economy. The project is financially supported as it won a 70,000 pesos pitch grant from Ayala Leadcom Ready Grant by Ayala Foundation and Macquarie Group Foundation. It is also unlike any other livelihood program. Throughout the 6 months implementation of Andam Eba, the project aims to provide skills-training of scholar-mothers and to teach them about the basics of starting up a business in the new normal for them to sustain their scholarship and to provide their own needs and the needs of their children.
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Now more than ever, the aspirations of Maricel and many other scholar-moms is close to reality. Watch out also for the Andam Eba Online Store that showcases the products of these scholar-moms. The project is still open for meaningful partnerships or sponsorships with organizations that shares the same vision with us as we advocate for women and their economic empowerment! Join Andam Higala and these Ebas as they share their narratives throughout the Andam Eba 2.0. You could follow and reach us through our official Facebook page: @AndamHigalaCDO, email: andamhigala@gmail.com and mobile no: 09067471292. Together, let’s create a city full of economically empowered Ebas!
Keywords: Economic Empowerment, A Livelihood Program