Twenty out-of-school youths (OSYs) belonging to the Higaonon indigenous community in Las Nieves town, Agusan del Norte have completed their 15-day Digital Literacy Training (DLT) through the Mobile Computer Literacy (MCL) program.
in an interview on Wednesday, Michael Mandahinog of the Las Nieves municipal Information office said the MCL is an initiative of Agusan del Norte Governor Maria Angelica Rosedell Amante, which they support together with the Army’s 23rd Infantry Battalion.
“The MCL aims to bring literacy education to far-flung communities in Las Nieves to help the OSYs, especially those from the Indigenous People (IP) communities,” Mandahinog said.
He added that the program is among the priorities being supported by Mayor Karen Rosales to help the IP youths obtain National Certificate II (NC II) from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
“The mayor believes that with the NC II certificates on digital literacy education, our IP OSYs can find decent jobs, improve their lives, and help their families,” Mandahinog said.
The 20 OSYs who are from Barangays Bokbokon and Lawan-lawan completed their DLT course on Tuesday.
The DLT is also implemented through the Alternative Learning System of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Agusan del Norte.
Among the 20 OSYs who graduated from the training was Melona Casing from Bokbokon, who expressed gratitude to the government for the opportunity she received through free digital literacy education.
“I am thankful for this basic training on computers. The 15-day day training was very fruitful, which enable us to learn about the basics of computers,” Casing said in the vernacular.
Meanwhile, Rosales also welcomed the turnover on Tuesday of the PHP2.5 million worth of barangay health station in Lawan-lawan.
The project was implemented under the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services – Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan Indigenous Peoples Community-Driven Development (KALAHI CIDSS-PAMANA IP-CDD) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development 13 (Caraga).
The project had a PHP1.7 million allocation from the PAMANA IP-CDD program and a PHP819,000 local counterpart of Las Nieves’ municipal government. (PNA)
