QUEZON CITY, (PIA) --To ensure that its livelihood interventions are innovative and remain responsive to the needs of its participants, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched a new and improved Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).

Called Sibol, the new brand of the program, represents the step-by-step growth in the journey of SLP participants toward an improved well-being with equitable access to livelihood assets and resources.

“Like a plant, we grow with you. We make sure that we plant the seed, we nurture it, we water it, we watch it grow, and we watch it turn into something bigger than what it was. That’s the bottom line,” Secretary Rex Gatchalian, in a stamen said.

He also mentioned in his statement that improvement in the guidelines of SLP implementation was made as part of the Department’s effort to empower its intended clients.

“We want to make sure that our development programs are not one-shot deals - that we provide the cash and we say goodbye. But rather, we want to make sure it is sustainable and that we partner, monitor and grow the economic enterprise with you,” the DSWD chief said.

The enhanced program aims to expedite the implementation process, rationalize cost parameters, and provide new training or capacity-building activities.

The SLP continues to be the Department’s lead livelihood capability-building program for poor, vulnerable, and marginalized households and communities, that helps improve their socio-economic conditions through accessing and acquiring necessary assets to engage in and maintain thriving livelihoods. (dwd/pia-ncr)