Bidlisiw - EQUIP -YP Project Project Title: EQUIP -YP ( Economic Equality Initiatives for Productivity of Marginalized Young People)

The project is about piloting and enhancing a design that willprepare <(>&<)> provide access to vulnerable/marginalized young peopleages 15-24 years old for economic inclusion. It will also attempt toimplement, come up with a model design for the Tulong TrabahoAct (RA 11230) targeting the former beneficiaries of Bidlisiw whounderwent the healing <(>&<)> recovery program as well as those who areresiding in the same communities who are also marginalizedbecause of their socio-economic conditions. RA 11230 is very newand based on consultation with TESDA Region 7 and CebuProvincial Office, this is not yet fully implemented in the area. Thereare many designs circulating around towards economicempowerment however the inclusion of the recovered drug addict,survivors of trafficking, those with low educational qualifications arenot able to cope/keep up with the opportunities provided due tovarious circumstances such as discrimination, lack of life skills andother job readiness issues. Bidlisiw's clienteles are children-youth inneed of special protection such as drug users/surrenderees,commercially sexually exploited children etc. who mostly are non-high school completers, some are overage for her/his currenteducational attainment thus going back to formal school is no longertheir priority. In our own data, among those highly vulnerable, 87%of young people would want to proceed to wage employment whileonly 13% would want to become entrepreneurs. However actualfamily profile of enrolled beneficiaries showed only 38% are wage-employed which is a big discrepancy of their own aspiration andinterest. From among those who are self -employed, 90% belongsto the informal economy. The main program of Bidlisiw which is thechild <(>&<)> family healing recovery <(>&<)> reintegration (CFHRR) is focusedon trauma recovery and strengthening of the personal resources.However, sustaining the behavioral changes is a challenge becauseonce they become young adults, access to economic productivity isdifficult because of their background. Relapse may happen if theyare not supported in this area. Many of the opportunities around aregiven to young people who are privileged, qualified, job-readyleaving behind this type of young people. Also, it was noted in ourexperience, even those who are senior high completers are unableto pursue college. They have limited access to information on jobvacancies and skills training available. It was also notable that somebeneficiaries are showing low self -esteems as they got to comparethemselves to others who have achieved a lot. Some companies inthe past have created biases on individuals living in those types ofcommunities where Bidlisiw beneficiaries reside. They are judgedas liabilities of the society and trust is at times absent. Thisoftentimes leads to young people settling for informal/laborious typeof jobs inside their communities where social security, the minimumwage isnot secured where the risks for labor exploitation and thedangers of relapse become big as they face the economicpressures. This prompted Bidlisiw to create phase 2 of the CFHRRwhich will develop their life skills for employability and facilitateeconomic inclusion of vulnerable young people and convince theprivate sector to open doors for marginalized youth. The aboveconcept will provide changes at the youth level making themequipped with life skills for employability, the organization is able toestablish a program for economic inclusion of the marginalizedsector, and at the level of the private sector making them moresensitive, non-judgmental, and inclusive.