USAid gives grant to waste collector in QC

THE United States Agency for International Development (USAid) awarded its "first" business expansion grant to a woman waste collector to help her start her own door-to-door waste collection livelihood.The USAid provided about P50,000 or $888 worth of waste collection equipment to Riza Santoyo, 34, from Quezon City, the US Embassy in the Philippines said on Tuesday.The grant was made through its Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) program and its Women in Waste's Economic Empowerment Activity, the embassy said in a statement.The USAid extended the grant to Santoyo in partnership with Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Quezon City government, World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF-Philippines) and EcoWaste Coalition."We recognize that women in the waste sector are talented, hardworking, critical members of our global communities and deserve equal access to opportunities to establish or grow their waste livelihoods or businesses," said USAid Philippines Deputy Mission Director Rebekah Eubanks.The majority of women in the waste sector serve in informal positions as waste collectors, owners, or employees of small recycling centers, junk shops and upcycling enterprises, the embassy said.These women are "often underpaid and undervalued despite their contributions to preventing plastic litter from reaching the ocean," it pointed out."We are very proud of Riza for the business grant she received and for being an inspiration to us," said Quezon City Mayor Maria Josefina "Joy" Belmonte."We also thank USAid, Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, WWF-Philippines, and EcoWaste Coalition for being our partners in empowering and uplifting the lives of women waste collectors in our city," she said in a statement.The embassy said the USAid's Women in Waste's Economic Empowerment Activity aims to "level the playing field and empower women" to become leaders in the sector and in their communities.Since 2021, USAid and its partners have supported 167 women in the waste sector by increasing access to training, mentoring, funding and business opportunities.USAid launched its CCBO program in August 2019 to respond to the ocean plastics pollution crisis. The five-year program, amounting to P2.7 billion or $48 million, targets "rapidly urbanizing countries" like the Philippines to address ocean plastics directly at their source.By strengthening waste management systems and building circular economies, city by city, the program builds sustainable solutions that reduce ocean plastics while empowering vulnerable populations and mitigating pollution that affects human health and the climate, the embassy said."We are committed to helping Filipino women in the waste sector become successful entrepreneurs and improve their lives," said Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines President Ma. Cecilia Alcantara.