The barangay local government of Barangay Mayha in Odiongan, Romblon mobilizes their women's association to help maintain their vegetable farm amidst the pandemic.
Built in December 2020, the said vegetable farm's goal is to be the source of barangay mayha's constituents' daily vegetable needs.
Marites Gan, president of Mayha Women's Organization and Mayha Barangay Council for Women said villagers no longer have to go to the market to buy vegetables as almost all vegetables will soon be available in their mini-market.
She added that this will help reduce the volume of villagers going to the market and will minimize the chance of being infected with Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).
Gan also added that they are not after the income that the farm will generate, but to provide their constituents with the option to buy affordable vegetables.
Gan further said that they have observed that women’s participation in the community is mainly on doing household work, that's why the organization's mission is to empower them.
“Women must be empowered. It doesn’t mean that when you are a woman, you should just be at home. So we formed this organization to let the public know that women also have abilities and should not just rely on their husbands,” Gan said.
As part of the celebration of this year's Women's Month with the theme ‘Juana Laban sa Pandemya: Kaya', PIA-Romblon gathered women leaders in the said barangay to discuss timely topics surrounding women in their locality.
With the current 66 active members, Mayha Women's Organization also participates in different barangay initiatives such as weekly Zumba lessons, and seminars as this will improve their skills and learnings.
The organization's Vice President Chuche Guirindola also shared during the talakayan that they also plan to initiate seminars wherein husbands, and other male personalities will be invited to discuss different rights of women in society. This is to prevent incidents of Violence against Women and Children in their community.
Barangay councilor Lina Diva, who acts as the organization's adviser, said that in exchange for the support given by the women organization to the BLGU, they also provided different programs and activities for women.
They also alloted an amount for the organization and for the VAWC on barangay's yearly budget.
Meanwhile, Mayha Women's Organization and the Mayha Barangay Council for Women encourage women to be part of the community and join women's organizations in their respective barangays.
Gan reiterates that being part of their community will not only benefit the organization but will also benefit the women themselves.
