Valencia, Bohol - The Barangay Nutrition Committee (BNC) of Barangay Genoveva, Valencia, Bohol awards best performing puroks in implementing nutrition programs in their areas. Led by Barangay Chairman Liezel Maestre the BNC initiated a Purok Evaluation which enjoins the environmental, agricultural, water and sanitation, health, and nutrition sectors to effectively and efficiently manage the program of every purok, as a model to every household.
The evaluation was conducted in partnership with the Municipal Nutrition Committee. The evaluation team was composed of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, Human Resource for Health in Nutrition, and the members of the Barangay Nutrition Committee and was supervised by the Municipal Nutrition Action Officer and PHN Leandro Rio J. Cagatin. The team assessed the implementation of 7 puroks in both nutrition specific and sensitive interventions. The puroks were assessed based on the following criteria: Purok Kiosk/Physical Appearance (Isolation, Breastfeeding Room) – 10%, Recordkeeping/Financial Reports (Garden Sales, Census of Animals, Population) – 10%, Compost Pit (MRF, Garbage Can-3 Boxes) – 10%, Documentation (Purok Profile, Vision, Mission, Pictorials and Minutes of the Meeting, Health Poster) – 15%, Vegetables Garden – 5%, Herbal Garden and First Aid Box – 5%, Botanical Garden – 5%, Comfort Room (Complete Accessories Inside) – 15%, Kitchen (With Utensils) – 5%. Data Board/Spot Map (List of Households and Officers) – 10%, and Organizations & Officials (National down to Purok and Organizations in the Barangay) -10%.
After field visits, desk review and deliberation, the 8-member board of judges selected the winners. Purok 5 garnered the highest scores obtaining the First prize, followed by Puroks 1 and 4 which banged the Second and Third prizes respectively. Consolation prizes were also given to the remaining puroks as an appreciation for their participation during the activity, and most of all, for their efforts to be role models to their constituents.
The said activity originally scheduled in December 2020 has been moved several times due to the surge of COVID-19 cases and the devastation caused by Typhoon Odette. However, with the persistence of the evaluation team and purok members, the appraisal was finally pursued on 27 January 2022.
The activity was an opportunity for the puroks to showcase the cooperation among their members, the process of documentation, and the organizational style, which can serve as an example to other puroks. This also shows how well the different puroks have properly taken care of their agricultural produce, gardens, and livestock or fishponds, and the income generation opportunities that can be initiated by other puroks. This purok evaluation served as a model not only to the other barangays of the Municipality of Valencia but may also serve as an example to other municipalities and provinces of the region. May this be a call to action to other barangays, to follow the footsteps of Barangay Genova, Valencia, and conduct Purok Evaluations also in their respective barangays. // ND II Marcel John JK. Cartin, RND
