I repeat, be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, for I, the LORD your God, am with you in all you do. (Joshua 1:9)
It all started with P1,181.50. From this measly amount, DCCCO has come a long way. From an urgent need in the mid-60s to liberate a group of parents from the clutches of loan sharks who want to give their children a chance for a more dignified living condition, DCCCO has successfully expanded into becoming the community-based cooperative that it is today and has made a difference in the lives of almost 150,000 individuals.
All the accomplishments and triumphs that DCCCO Multipurpose Cooperative has reaped came from one compassionate vision and a meager amount of P1,181.50. From this very small amount of assets initiated by 49 pioneering members, it now reached P8.32 billion in total assets and 142,963 active members as of Aug. 31 this year.
Embedded in its group philosophy are the core values of Dynamism, Christ-centeredness, Compassion, Commitment, and Oneness. From a small community-based cooperative, it has continued to make a difference in the lives of thousands of individuals.
Accomplishments
In 2018, it has grown to be the country’s Most Outstanding Primary Cooperative (large billionaire category) in recognition of its exemplary performance in bringing responsive services to its members and the community, and as a model of cooperative best practices and good governance, also the country’s Best in Gender and Development Mainstreaming award for recognizing the importance of equity and equality in both men and women and fairness in all its transactions to members as well as the community.
In 2016, Most Outstanding Community Enterprises on Poverty Reduction, 2013 Most Outstanding Cooperative in the Philippines (large category), 2014 Top 10 Billionaire Cooperative, 2012 Best in Community Involvement and Development, and 2nd placer as Most Outstanding Cooperative (large category), the Central Visayas region’s Outstanding Cooperative (large category) also in 2012 and 2017, and the 2019 CDA Regional Gawad Parangal Award as the lone Most Outstanding Cooperative (large category – billionaire) in Region 7 for exemplifying best practices in good cooperative governance and for excellent performance in financial inclusion services, providing effective access and a wide range of financial products and services to its members and the community.
What it continues to do
Aside from credit activities and allied services such as the Damayan program, burial assistance, medical/dental assistance, and donations/ cash assistance during the CoVid-19 pandemic which started in 2020 and continues until now, DCCCO initiated the following long-lasting impact, life-transforming, and life-saving initiatives:
• Donated one electrolyte machine worth P235,000 and one ultrasound machine worth P1.48 million to the Negros Oriental Hospital and Health Services Cooperative.
• Implemented the USAID Fish Right Program with Silliman University, the Bureau of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources and the Negros Oriental Electric Cooperative II to foster substantial change in fisheries management and climate resilience and achieve an increase in fish biomass in the areas of Southern Negros Oriental.
• Conducted skills training on poultry farming and egg production to members of the Banilad Manguilawod Fisheries Association.
• Currently assisting three small cooperatives in Dauin – Baslay Highland Agriculture Cooperative, Marait Dauis Bay-ang Anhawan Agriculture Cooperative, and Lihok Bunga Neighborhood Agriculture Cooperative, providing them with technical assistance, training and capability building activities for the growth, development and sustainability.
• Provided school supplies to different schools and conducted values formation seminars to identified barangays under the End Local Communist Armed Conflict program.
• Conducted the yearly tree growing, coral planting, and coastal clean-up activities to raise awareness on the importance of environmental protection and conservation.
• Donated protected garments to the different barangays in the provinces of Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental and Cebu where DCCCO branches are located.
• Supported Aflatuon partner schools in their Brigada Eskwela activities
• Supplemental feeding program.
• Corporal Work of Mercy to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, and to visit the imprisoned.
• Implementation of partnerships with DSWD for the implementation of the 4Ps. All 4Ps members are currently gaining success in managing their financial resources through DCCCOs financial literacy instruction and skills training sessions. Collectively, they now have millions in savings deposits within the cooperative.
• Implementation of Aflatuon program which encourages elementary and High School students from public and private schools to have their own savings deposits who, at present, have become regular depositors of DCCCO after being taught financial management and leadership.
DCCCO is a principle-based venture that place people, rather than the pursuit of profit, at the core of its business. Because of this, it follows a broader set of values, namely — self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity — than those associated purely with making a profit.
If DCCCO has done all these, it is because the people behind the organization strongly believe in what is written in Philippians 4:13, “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
