Afon helps the Philippines move forward
The transportation of people and goods in the remote areas of the Philippines is a big challenge. Afon, a partner of Trias, makes sure that tricycle drivers earn a liveable wage to support their families.
© Trias
Good means of transportation in the rural areas of the region Antique are critical for local development. The most important way to carry people as well as goods are tricycles. Drivers of these three wheeled motorcycles equipped with a side-car make less than 2 dollars per day.
Because the tricycle carry heavy loads on bad roads, the maintenance costs are very high. Drivers often have to resort to microcredits in order to pay the invoice of their local garage.
In order to support these drivers, Afon ensured that the drivers could get a subsidized training on tricycle repair and maintenance from a public technical school. “As the drivers can repair their own vehicles, a burden is removed from their income” said Herminia Lagdamen, a Trias employee. With government support, they can even start their own business in spare parts.
The first 14 drivers from a trade union in the Anini-y community have now successfully completed the training programme. “Our costs are much lessened. Above all, we are earning extra cash with repairing other drivers' tricycles,” says the 21-year old Ronie Paez Vigilancia.
The success of the training in Anini-y has made drivers' trade unions in other communities thinking. Applications for the tranining are pouring in. Here, Afon's role is to connect the necessary organisations with each other so that they together, can ensure regional development. Afon director Romeo Baldevia states his purpose: “In 2013, all the taxi drivers federations from the 18 communities in Antique must have completed the training and begun to build their business in spare parts.”