by Gadwin Handumon, PCDFI & PMPC
I constantly strive for something better. I can say that I have raised more empowered and productive families. My involvement to the community was a flash of my career when I joined Paglaum Center (as church-based & transformed into a foundation) now Paglaum Community Development Foundation, Incorporated (PCDFI) as a Livelihood Coordinator, then promoted as Finance Officer. At present, I sit as the Chief Executive Officer of Paglaum CDFI. My being active in community works has done a dramatic change for the betterment in the communities where the Paglaum Foundation is serving for 26 years.
The Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC) was born 9 years after the Paglaum Foundation. As the General Manager of PMPC, it gave me room to organize and founded in 1992, the livelihood arm of PCDFI. It started with an initial capital of Php 2,000 with 35 members. PMPC is servicing the three (3) provinces of Misamis Occidental, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur. Paglaum Multi Purpose Cooperative has transformed the values and outlooks of thousands of coop members who have availed financial support, social programs and various trainings. Paglaum MPC is now 17 years of reaching out to rural and hard-to-reach communities in the NorthWestern part of Mindanao with an almost 30,000 member-participants and continuously increasing its capital build-up and savings generation.
The PCDFI & PMPC are catering to the needs of the risky sectors of the society which other organizations are hesitant to help and oftentimes excluded in extending financial assistance. But with a wide array of hope, I never had second thoughts of providing social services to people like fish vendors, housewives, farmers, Indigenous People, Persons with Disability, indigent families, children of poor families and all marginalized sector of society. Our capacity for risk taking has been instrumental in making our services accessible to the poor.
I am moving on the thought that I cannot rest comfortably with what I have achieved and with what I have earned. I am aiming to accomplish better and higher learnings. The direction I am taking on will not limit to benefit myself but will redound to the management and to the entirety of Paglaum MPC. I wish to pursue continuous education to back me up in my leadership as General Manager and Chief Executive Officer as well as other positions I am handling.
I am delighted to avail the scholarship program through CARD with the support of Dr. Alip and my institutions Paglaum CDFI and MPC for SNHU’s Master of Science in Community Economic Development as this knocks an opportunity in my career advancement. I believe that this program will equip me with so much wisdom to continually do the developmental works. The steps I am taking is not for personal gains but for the community. I have broadened my doors to challenge my capacities and my abilities. I know that this will labor me a lot, personal and family sacrifices but I am willing to devote my time and effort for the good of Paglaum and for the communities we are serving.
I was adjudged by the Local Government of Misamis Occidental as the Most Outstanding Misamisnon. It was a testament of my selfless dedication to the community. I have a heart of a true champion, as they say. I do not give up easily even when I am surrounded by enormous challenges. Instead, I make use of the difficult situation as an opportunity to create something that is more useful and meaningful. Such was the situation when Paglaum was battling waves of challenges. I resisted the storm and together with a determined team, we all turned the situation up side down. Now that the coop is in top shape, I never allowed timidity to ruin my motivation in pursuit of greater heights for Paglaum. I can see the call for people and community empowerment is far from over. Many still lack opportunity. They thirst for financial freedom. I recognize and accept the greater challenges ahead but I am confident that my team and with faith in each other and faith in God, we will not cease to discover more ways to accomplish our mission.
In conclusion, my personal definition of Community Development is that an aggressive participation of the community people towards real empowerment. A collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders for the betterment of all in the community.
