For The Bohol Tribune
In This Our Journey
NESTOR MANIEBO PESTELOS
Our NGO, the Bohol Local
Development Foundation (BLDF), has just launched a fund campaign to support
Bohol’s first drug rehabilitation center, the FARM It Works Balay Kahayag
(FITWBK) Chemical Dependency Treatment Center, in barangay Laya, Baclayon.
Here are some facts about the fund
campaign:
a. Background and rationale
BLDF
has negotiated successfully with two drug rehabilitation centers, the Family
and Recovery Management (FARM) center in Minglanilla, Cebu and the It Works
Chemical Dependency Center in Ozamiz City, that they combine technical and
funding resources to operate Bohol’s first drug rehabilitation center.
Known
as the FARM It Works Balay Kahayag (FITWBK) Chemical Dependency Treatment
Center, it is located at the sprawling BK training facility consisting of a
multi-purpose hall good for 100 participants; a dormitory for 38 occupants; a
purok-type function room; a guest house converted into an office and staff
house; and a kitchen.
This Residential Treatment and Rehabilitation Center
(In-patient Center) with an initial capacity of 30 persons/beds provides
comprehensive rehabilitation services utilizing, among others, a combination of
the accepted modalities: Multi-disciplinary Team Approach, Therapeutic
Community Approach, and/or Spiritual Services towards the rehabilitation of the
dependent.
FITWBK as designed is managed as a business
enterprise to ensure its financial sustainability. Its clients are charged standard or regular
fees. The management exercise functions as befit a commercial entity to ensure
financial viability for the enterprise.
Although
a business concern, it is run more as a social enterprise, with its profit used
to operate the business and channeled to contribute to the objective of helping
increase the access of drug abuse victims from among the youth to high-quality treatment
services.
b. Goal and Specific Targets
As determined
by BLDF Board of Trustees, the goal of the fund campaign is to open access to
treatment services at the FITWBK to drug abuse victims from the youth belonging
to disadvantaged and poor families.
The specific
target is to raise PHP
1.5 million yearly to enable the Project to:
·
send a minimum of
5 clients from poor families to the drug rehab center yearly; and
·
provide start-up
capital to a minimum of 5 out-of-school youth as preventive strategy against
drug abuse, or the same number a year of treated drug abusers as strategy
against relapse by ensuring immediate involvement in productive activities; and
·
assist the same minimum number of
treated drug abusers a year as strategy against relapse by ensuring their immediate
involvement in productive activities.
c. How to send donations
Donations may be given to authorized representatives
or sent directly to:
BPI Peso Acct.
No. 001203-3176-34
BPI Dollar
Acct. No. 001204-0467-23
SWIFT CODE:
BOPIPHMM
BPI Tagbilaran
City, Bohol. Philippines
Account Name:
Bohol Local Development Foundation, Inc. (BLDF)
Or, through any of the following:
Palawan Pawnshop, Cebuana Lhullier, M. Lhullier,
c/o Romulo Pasco,
Poblacion, Baclayon, Bohol; Tel. +63 0917 306 6158.
Donations will be acknowledged through the
following:
http//m.facebook.com/drugfreebohol
Official receipts or letters of acknowledgements will
be sent upon receipt of the donation.
For queries about the fund campaign, please contact
us: Email – npestelos@gmail.com; Mobile
–
09173041450.
On Livelihood Support to Drug Prevention
and Rehabilitation
BLDF
and its key partners have seen the need to provide livelihood opportunities to
households affected by the problems related to drug abuse to further ensure
project sustainability. Engagement of FITWBK clients in livelihood activities
can also be part of treatment and rehabilitation to further ensure
reintegration into normal community and family life after the treatment phase.
BLDF
will realign project activities it has initiated based on its program framework
on Informal Employment and Sustainable Livelihood (IESL). This component
project will provide skills training and start-up capital to serve as
preventive measure against drug addiction among the youth.
Donors or contributors are welcomed to provide start-up
capital to initiate social enterprises among the young people, preferably
out-of-school youth or those enrolled in the Alternative Learning System (ALS)
of the Department of Education. Due to
limited resources, we can only support a few projects.We are constrained to confine
our interventions in Baclayon, where our
NGO is based , to cut costs. Hopefully, we can realize substantial returns from
these projects to be able to provide funding support to out-of-school youth in
their involvement in livelihood activities.
Former Ilaw ng Buhay colleagues, Conrad and Onnie
Ayson, who are now based in California, are now helping us raise funds for this
cause. They have initially sent USD 400 to be used in Native Chickens project.
Marit Meijer, our intern from Saxion University College of Applied Science,
will come back February for the next phase of her work with the Mountain Bikes
Cultural Tour project undertakenlay with ALS Baclayon. She intends to expand
the present Community Bikes Rental project into a key social enterprise
project.
Our volunteer, Paolo Mabilangan, is still on leave but
we expect him to be back either to resume his work with the Bikes rental project
or to get involved in the other social enterprises. Much thanks for the
patience and the perseverance to stay with the Crazy Company of dreamers and
the never-say-die team! Welcome to the
club, young man.
The Diocese of Tagbilaran has encouraged us to send
participants to their existing livelihood skills project under the Bohol
Rehabilitation and Rebuilding Project (BRRP). We are assured BLDF may also
apply for support in terms of materials to livelihood activities undertaken as
part of its Bohol Youth Livelihood and Drug Assistance Project. Based on the
request of the BRRP Secretariat,
We have prepared a PHP 17 million project that will
provide infrastructure, technical and administrative support to Bohol’s first
drug rehabilitation center. It will be directly administered by the Secretariat
in partnership with BLDF.
On the whole, it has been a difficult journey, this
advocacy to have a drug rehabilitation center in Bohol, but we are encouraged
by the exemplary dedication shown by the FARM Recovery Center of Minglanilla,
Cebu and It Works Chemical Dependency Treatment Center in Ozamis City in going
through the tedious process of having such a facility in the province.
For queries about the FITWBK, kindly contact COO Alain
Alino at Mobile: 09173250252; 09327468009. Or Rene Francisco at Mobile 09189088237. - You
may also visit its website: Fitwbk.weebly.com.
Lastly, thank you to those who have given encouraging
comments through Facebook or by email. You know who you are. It’s now more than
two readers who have given us feedbacks. As they say in that song, you’re the wind
beneath our wings. #Bohollivelihood+drugrehab
NMP/15 Jan
2016/5.43 p.m.
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