BALANGA CITY (PIA) -- A total of 12 beneficiaries in Bataan received Negosyo sa Kariton (Nego Karts) and start up materials from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The P360,000 worth of grants awarded include vending carts, single burners with gas tanks, and frozen products such as kikiam, fish balls, squid balls, hotdogs, tofu, and cooking tools, among others.

DOLE Bataan Chief Labor and Employment Officer Leilani Reynoso shared that the recipients were selected individuals from Dinalupihan town under the Adopt a Family program of the Municipal Health Office.

“The beneficiaries were chosen to receive livelihood Nego Kart, a valuable resource to help them start or enhance their small businesses and uplift the lives of their families, providing them with a means to become financially independent and improve their everyday living,” she furthered.

Reynoso likewise encouraged them to take good care of the awarded Nego Karts and to work hard to make them profitable.

Loida Alfonso, a single mother and one of the beneficiaries, expressed gratitude for the initiative and said that it is a great help for her to provide for her family’s needs.

"Nagpapasalamat po kami sa DOLE. Napakalaking tulong po nito para makasapat sa aming pang-araw araw na pagkain at para hindi narin po ako bumalik sa pangangalakal (We are thankful to DOLE. This is a huge help for us to have enough for our daily food and for me not to return to waste picking anymore),” she said. 

Alfonso earns P200 per day by collecting plastic bottles, tin cans, cardboard, and other recyclables, which she sells to a junk shop.

The Nego Kart is a project intended to provide decent livelihood opportunities mainly for vulnerable and marginalized workers in the country's informal sector by offering assistance for capacity building in their entrepreneurial ventures.

This initiative is under the agency’s Integrated Livelihood Program. (CLJD/RPQ-PIA 3)