“Gusto gyud ko nga makabaton ug kaugalingon nga negosyo aron moasenso among panginabuhian alang sa kaugmaon sa akong mga anak” expressed by Annaliza when asked about her biggest dream in life.

     Annaliza Panawan is a mother of four children who lives in Purok Riverside, Brgy. Olingan, Dipolog City Zamboanga del Norte.

She spend most of her days at home as a housewife who took care of their humble abode. Her husband, Ranulfo Razaga Panawan Sr, drives a tricycle to support their living. He usually earns 200-400 pesos a day which is barely enough to sustain their everyday family needs. On 2012, her husband caught an illness which made him decided to stop driving.

 “Matud pa sa doctor tungod sa pasmo mao nga nagkasakit akong bana ug dugay gyud kini nga na-confine sa hospital” Annaliza said. Unfortunately, the tricycle which is the only source of income need to be sold in order to defray the expenses of his husband’s hospital bills.“Igo-igo ra gyud kini nga gibayad sa hospital apan nagpasalamat ra gihapon ko sa kahitas-an nga bisan pa ug nabaligya ang maong franchise, mao kini nakatabang nga maluwas ang akong bana nga mao ra gyud ang gisaligan unta sa among panginabuhian” she added.

     Since Ranulfo temporarily cannot work and provide for the family because of his condition, Annaliza need to exert his ways to provide for the famiy thinking all her children are also going to school.

     In 2014, Annaliza was able to avail Sustainable Livelihood Program’s SEA-K assistance. She was granted with an amount of php10,000.00 which she planned to use to start up a business. Fortunately, a friend also offered help for an additional fund to pursue the business plans, “Adunay ni-finance namu ug php15,000.00 sa pagnegosyo ug pig butchering ug tunga kami sa ginansiya, ako ang mulihok ani ug sa panahon nga medyo naulian na ang akong bana kaming duha ang timbang sa maong negosyo, ug maka-ginansya kami ug tag php6,000.00 kada bulan”. Annaliza said

“Hago kaayo ang maong negosyo ug maingun gyud nga alkansi kami kay ang nag-finance igo ra man sa pagdawat ug limpyo/ginansiya” she added.

“Makaihaw kami ug 2 heads of pig kada semana pero ug medyo mahal ang isda maka-ihaw mi ug 3 heads of pig” Annaliza further narrated.

Through the successful manifestation of their livelihood, they were able to pay some of their bills. “Kaluoy sa Ginoo maka gross income kami ug tag php3,000-4,000 per day ug tungod sa maong pagnegosyo nga diin utang2x pa sauna karun dili na gyud kay aduna na kami kaugalingon nga pwesto sa highway sa Olingan Wet Market nga cash basis na gyud tanan”.

Analiza even pointed out that because of their perseverance, the business continues to flourish. Through this, they were able to buy freezers for their additional frozen products like dressed chicken aside from the regular pork meat that are being sold in their store. Today her husband is back on track on driving the tricycle, “Ang motor nga kanhi gigamit pamasahero sa akong bana, gitauran na kini ug sidecar gamit pagpangompra ug baboy”. Her husband also receives “pa-lechon” labor for php500 per pig.

Analiza expressed her appreciation on DSWD for the assistance provided to them, “Dako gyud kaayo ko ug pasalamat sa DSWD pinaagi sa SLP kay nakahulam ug php10,000.00 sa SEA-K nga gigamit gyud naku sa pagnegosyo ug ako gyud kini  nga giimpasan sa wala pa miabot ang termino kay nindot ra gyud paminawon nga maimpas ang utang.”

     Annaliza and her husband are hands-on in running the business. Her dream of having a livelihood and sustainable income come into reality if not because of DSWD and Sustainable Livelihood Program which assisted them all throughout the process. She knew how hard it is to begin but her family being the driving force to succeed in life challenges became her armor to face the stumbling blocks. They could not thank enough the Almighty Father for using the Sustainable Livelihood Program as an instrument to answer their prayers.

###BernelySheilaineDeLeon