Community Savings Congress boosts economic development in Sorsogon

SORSOGON CITY, April 19 (PIA) – This summer, the heat is on in Sorsogon as about 2,000 strong members of Community Savings and Credit Association (CoMSCA) trooped to the Aemilianum College Gymnasium on April 12, 2013 to culminate the economic development forum in Sorsogon City by the World Vision, in partnership with Green Valley Development Programme (GVDP).

With a total bursary capital of over P5-M at present, the 113 CoMSCA groups all over Sorsogon boasts of improvement in business and economic progress at the grassroots level.

“I was able to buy a pig from my share last year.  Now I will be able to celebrate my youngest son’s christening this summer,” said Corazon, a 39 yr-old mother who also carried her seventh child to the event.  Families are realizing the power of saving to usher financial growth in the home.

Aside from adults who joined CoMSCA, some 30 children and youth groups have also been motivated to join the CoMSCA especially as they see the benefit of becoming a member. Aya (not her real name), a 14 year old said, “I was able to buy my own cellphone from my share.  At least now, I feel safer since I can call my parents and they would know where I am in case I would be a bit late going home due to a school project.”

The event showcased songs and dances from the participants.  A CoMSCA group even composed new lyrics that feature the benefits of saving, to the tune of Pusong Bato:

    “Di niyo alam dahil ditto kami may natutunan
      Sa pag-impok ng pera ditto lang ito sa CoMSCA
      Kung ito’ muling iiral, sana’y di magiging problema
      Meron itong aral disiplina.”

Slogan contests, prizes, and raffle draws were also part of the celebration.

“This is the second CoMSCA Congress that we did here in Sorsogon,” said Ms. Norma Hernandez, program officer of GVDP. “We celebrate God’s goodness together and we give out prizes to best performing groups.  This is one way of promoting the initiative. We also do this to let people see CoMSCA’s benefits and that more youths and adults will be encouraged to join,” she added.

CoMSCA is an initiative of the economic development thrust of World Vision – a non-government relief, advocacy, and development organization.  Through CoMSCA, families will have additional income by means of savings and credit from the pool of money of as many groups composed of 25 members that a community could establish. Village agents are also established in the community to orient and monitor the groups.

The CoMSCA Congress was a culminating event of the Economic Development Forum attended by about 59 delegates from all over Luzon.  The forum featured new lessons in natural farming technologies, new processes and policies on how to set up a cooperative, and a demonstration in making bokashi organic fertilizer while on a tour to demo farm set up by GVDP in Sorsogon.

Bokashi Organic fertilizer is a natural soil amendment that can be prepared using farm-based, locally derived materials. It focuses on the preparation of organic soil and plant amendments using microbiological processes as inspired by the Nature Farming approach, first advocated by the Japanese philosopher Mokichi Okada in 1935.

The cooperative and demo farm help about 2,000 families and small farmers in the province to add fire to the searing passion of Sorsoganons towards sustainable development. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon/JMCMijares, Green Valley)