Gearing towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, PCC committed milk provisions for 40 grade school children, ages 7-15 years old, of Brgy. Poblacion East, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija for 120 days.
On September 17, the launching and official signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the milk supplementation program between PCC, the local government unit (LGU) of the Science City of Muñoz and the SDG Family-based Actions for Children and their Environs in the Slums (FACES) Inner Circle representatives, took place at the city mayor’s office.
Also, present in the event are the children-beneficiaries with their mothers who are part of the SDG FACES project.
According to Jefferson Ongoco, City Development and Planning Officer, residents selected for SDG FACES are the classified “poorest of the poor” in the city. He emphasized that an important initiative of the project is to empower and capacitate women in front lining the rearing of their family.
“I urge the mothers to help us, the LGU and PCC in having the children drink milk to forward the aim in diminishing malnutrition’’ Mayor Nestor Alvarez, Science City of Muñoz, said.
The project was launched under the campaign of the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Local Government Academy where the Science City LGU is included. The primary aim is to “mobilize different sectors of society in providing critical interventions established at the household, city and national levels that will have a direct impact on the quality of life of children in the slums.”
PCC Executive Director Arnel del Barrio underscored in his short message, that PCC supports SDG FACES to combat poverty by making sure that the next generation are healthy with the help of milk.
Under the MOA, 4,800 sachets of 200 ml pasteurized toned buffalo’s milk will be provided by PCC. The agency will also supervise, monitor and evaluate the progress of the project.
The LGU is in-charge of logical support, assistance in coordination of activities and monitoring of nutritional status of the children-beneficiaries.
On the side, the Inner Circle of SDG FACES will pick-up the ready-to-drink milk as well as ensure that the children consume the milk.
Spearheading the MOA signing are Mayor Alvarez, PCC Executive Director del Barrio, PCC Research and Development Division Chief Annabelle Sarabia and, Zaida Gallentes, president, Inner Circle of SDG FACES.
Also, in support are Ma. Theresa Sawit, PCC Head of Socio Economics and Policy Research; and Mina Abella, PCC Head of Carabao Enterprise Development Section.
Last year PCC had already partnered with the Science City of Muñoz – LGU and DepED in a milk supplementation program for 527 Grade 1 pupils in the span of 204 days.
