“Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unproductive.”

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP), an international Catholic lay organization with offices in the Philippines, serves the poor through community-based projects.

Alleviating poverty among the needy can be achieved in the long term by providing them with income-generating projects, so they can earn for themselves rather than wait for handouts.

In Brgy Mambuaya in Cagayan de Oro, SSVP has been helping the poor and needy in this way. In 2008, SSVP introduced backyard swine raising in Mambuaya.

Recipients of the project were enrolled with the Cagayan de Oro Veterinary Office, so they could practice the right technology in swine raising, facing and overcoming challenges such as the African Swine Fever. Among the protocols they learned to follow was the Bio Security Level 1 under the Sentinelling Program of the Department of Agriculture.

Knowledge was not enough, however. To keep the project going, SSVP needed funds for the cost of feeds, among others.

Recognizing the value and gains of the project upon the community, Asaffi extended a helping hand in the form of a financial donation to SSVP.

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