City Government of Zamboanga
USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn on Friday, October 18, visited and interacted with key officers and beneficiaries of the city’s Mendicants Center in Culianan in line with the implementation of the citizen monitoring activity, which forms part of the assistance granted through the USAID-CHANGE project.
The activity was a walk through and focused on testimonies of beneficiaries of the mendicancy center, the first-ever center to be established in the country. The center, located inside the Culianan government complex shelters rescued vagrants and complements the implementation of the anti-mendicancy law.
The USAIDA-CHANGE (Cities for Enhanced Governance and Engagement) project assisted the city in implementing a citizen monitoring activity focusing on the programs of the Mendicants Center. Several recommendations came from the citizen-monitors which were acted upon by the city government, benefitting the mendicants availing of the center’s services.
The Mendicants Center was unveiled on November 23 and was a project of the city government at a cost of P21.5M. It is managed and supervised by the City Social Welfre and Development Office (CSWDO) and presently houses 48 clients.
The center stands in a 1,079 square-meter lot inside the government center in Culianan where the social development center, women’s crisis center and the Children in Conflict with the Law center are also located. (CMO-PIO) (photo credits: Kathy Wee Sit)
