Success Story

A Plain housewife, Now a Barangay Captain

Barangay Daan-Secante is the inhabited in the 11 barangays of Tudela with 460 estimated populations. a bonafide resident in this barangay in the person of Melca Lativo, 41 years old, married with three children was challenged by her barangay folks to get a seat in October 2007 barangay poll.

Melca became a Plan member in 1999 with his youngest son Joseph as the sponsored child, becoming a member in the organization at the start was just an ordinary routine for her to attend meetings and comply the requirements that the organization has asked from her, however, in the long run it eventually breaks the chain that tied her from the household chores since her marriage in 1986, with her Plan membership, she discovers many changes and improvements in her personality.

When her family joined Plan, it was in its full swing of program interventions and implementations of ladderized trainings to equip a person with necessary life skills and knowledge in dealing and facing life's challenges in different perspectives without the fear of being left in the corner not knowing what to do.

" I was really blessed with many life's experiences with Plan's programs and intervention in my community" she confessed." Plan really makes magic in my entire personality because i was able to break my shell and come out to the open to becomea community volunteer". she finally said.

Ever since Tudela became a Plan covered municipality, people in the communicaty were provided with trainings in leadership skills/capability building/team building, bookkeeping, family, gender awareness, managing community projects, barangay planning, project proposal making, implementation, evaluating, monitoring, and still more trainings and workshops to enhance one's capacity in equipping a member in an organization. Melca was more than lucky to have been able to actively participate in almost all the above activities. Her family members too are actively participating Plan initiated endeavors.

Since her unending participation in the organization, people started to notice her leadership skills and potentials. she was observed to have possessed the bearing of a good leader. she is an active project leader in community managed projects. In school, she was elected PTCA President. Other community members easily rely on her when it comes to accompanying their children as chaperone in whatever Plan sponsored activities for the children in Tudela. Stakeholders in the community is used to notice her presence in almost Plan initiated programs. Plan sponsored children are likewise used to have her company because they feel the assurance that everything will be taken care of.

In 2001, she ran for the race of Barangay Councilors. She was second among the other seven elected councilors. however, her post her from becoming a community volunteer. She manages her time so as not to make her appointments both Plan and other extra work in the barangay be in conflict.

What more could she ask for? she has proven her worth not only as a wife but also an active community volunteer. if people ask her about what she gets from becoming a Plan member she just proudly narrates everything good she earns from becoming one. For her, what she becomes today and even what she will be in the future, is because of the life skills and knowledge from the series of trainings, seminars and exposures she has been into for many times.

she completely a different person, as she compares herself from what she has used to. One time she proudly claimed that she can negotiate people from all walks of life from her barangay folks and even up to the high ranking officials in and outside her community just to establish linkage and networking with Plan-related activities.

The recently conducted barangay poll has made her totally a barangay leader. Just as the majority of her barangay folks believe in her leadership skills, electing her as the barangay captain will make her a responsible leader in her community.

She finally uttered her last words saying" I cannot believe myself that i have come this far."