‘Negosyo sa Kariton’ project increases income of ambulant vendors in Iloilo City
The Negosyo sa Kariton or Negokart Project of the Department of Labor and Employment has successfully achieved its goal of increasing the beneficiaries’ income.
Sixty-two years old Anecita Navajas or T’yay Cita, an ambulant vendor from Jaro district, Iloilo City, sells assorted candies and other ‘chicheria’ at Jaro Plaza. This has been her livelihood for several years now. Every morning she would bring her goods to the area near the Jaro Plaza gym, unpack and display the goods using a folding table which she carries from her home in Bgy. Santa Isabel to Jaro Plaza. For so many years this has been her daily routine.
T’yay Cita wishes to have a cart so she could bring her goods from her home to Jaro Plaza and vice-versa without difficulty. But all she could do is make a wish because she knew she could never afford to buy one.
Suddenly, in a twist of fate, she was identified to become an owner of a Negokart vending cart.
“I was so happy when I learned that I would be a beneficiary of the vending cart,” she said. “I’ve been praying for this and hoping that one day I could have one; God has answered my prayer,” she added.
T’yay Cita was among the 20 ambulant vendors in Iloilo City identified by Western Visayas College of Science and Technology (WVCST), the DOLE’s Accredited Co-Partner (ACP), to receive a vending cart under the Negosyo sa Kariton or NegoKart Project.
About 45 ambulant vendors from the City’s five districts – Jaro, La Paz, Molo, Mandurriao and Arevalo, were initially identified by Iloilo City’s Social Welfare and Development district coordinators. The number was narrowed down to 20.
In October, the DOLE released P240 thousand to WVCST for the purchase of 20 vending carts to be used by identified ambulant vendors in their livelihood undertakings.
During the project launching on November 3, five vending carts were released and T’yay Cita was among the first lucky 5 to receive their carts.
“God is so good to me,” she muttered with teary eyes.
T’yay Cita’s daily income increased since the time she has the cart. Before, her income ranges from P300-P400; now she earns from P500-P600 a day.
“The cart did not just help me move my goodies with ease; it also improved my income because it allows me to display more goodies and ‘chicherias,’ and it attracts customers because of its appearance,” she shared.
T’yay Cita was so thankful to the government, especially to the DOLE, for this assistance.
“I really thanked the government, especially the DOLE. This is a big help to improve my livelihood,” she said.
T’yay Cita advised her fellow vendors, especially those encountering life’s difficulties, to never surrender but to trust in the Almighty God who never ceases to help those in need, and not to lose hope for the government is doing something to help them.
“Who knows, they would also become the beneficiaries of this project next year,” she said.
