
Murcia celebrated Women’s Month in March through a series of activities geared towards women empowerment, and highlighted by livelihood trainings.
About 240 women from the 23 barangays of Murcia participated in and benefitted from the livelihood project undertaken by the administration of Mayor Gerry Rojas,” the town’s first lady, Berni Rojas, who spearheaded the trainings on behalf of her husband, said in a press release yesterday.

The women were trained in basic haircut and color and in rug-making. Designers and beauty experts Kelly Cuachon and Benjie Borja shared their expertise in hairstyling, while Jennifer Medalla taught the participants the basics of making floor mats and pot holders out of strips of cloth.
To comply with the required health and safety protocols, the participants were grouped by cluster of barangays, and the trainings were conducted on separate schedules in different venues convenient to participants in specific cluster.

“We aim to empower our women by providing them with the skills, which will allow them to maximize their spare time in earning additional income for their families. The administration of Mayor Rojas also gave the participants the basic tools and materials so that they can immediately practice their newly-learned skills,” Mrs. Rojas added.
She also pledged to buy the floor mats and pot holders produced by the participants after the training, and the products will be among the items offered for sale by the town.
The livelihood training is a year-round priority project of the local administration. “In March, we prioritized the women because it was Women’s Month, but we will continue conducting such trainings and livelihood projects in the coming months,” she assured the Murciahanons.
OIC tourism officer Estella Barba and Agnes Baylon of the Municipal Agriculture Office assisted in the training, with the support of barangay captains and other officials, the press release added.*