The RDC Communicator is a semestral publication of the RDC IX that highlights the major accomplishments of the various sectors in the region for the semester. (1st Semester of 2009)

After discarding 30 business ideas, a group of college students finally found one that not only guarantees them a passing grade, but has also turned out to be a profitable venture that they can continue to pursue when they graduate next year (2010).

University of San Carlos business administration students Paraluman Salamat, Jonamae Comendador, Mary Ronna Untal, Fatima May Salise, Hazel Anne Sendrijas, Lucille April Deslate and Matias Bandal formed Echo Ventures Unlimited and ventured into selling ice cream.

A Cebu-based fashion accessories company now sells products that make it to international shelves just three months after the firm was founded.

THE future of Cebu’s small and medium enterprises looks bright as Gov. Gwen Garcia initiated a business program that will not only boost the chances for business expansion but also teach entrepreneurs how to become successful.

The Positive Deviance Hearth (PD Hearth) program is a joint project of the LGU of Nabas, Aklan and Abante Aklan, Inc. (AAI), who provided the trainings for the health and nutrition service providers of the twenty (20) barangays of the municipality, including the Municipal Health Officer and her staff. The goals of this program are; (1) to quickly rehabilitate malnourished children in the community, (2) sustain rehabilitation at home on their own, and (3) prevent future malnutrition among children born in the community by changing community norms in child care, feeding and health seeking practices.

This program promotes self-reliance and behavioral change among the beneficiaries and it empowers nutrition caregivers to be more responsive workers involved in the nutrition rehabilitation of young preschoolers (ages 6 to 36 months old) in the community. The program focuses on maximizing the use of available resources in the community. It also utilizes and harnesses the skills of participating parents thru various trainings and strategies in overcoming malnutrition problem extensively relying on “learning by doing method”.