With a meager income of about US$1 a day, Gerry Patran, a 35-year old villager in the southern Philippines, persists in sending all his three kids to school, dreaming that their education could one day change the family's living situation.

"I have nothing to give to my kids except my promise to give them their college diploma(s). Soon after they graduate from college, I am confident they (each) would find a job, (and) then our life will change for the better," he said in an interview.

In such a poor, remote village as Pangao-an on the outskirts of North Cotabato province, Patran's dream became less impossible when a two-room school building rose up from the ground, thanks to a so-called KALAHI-CIDSS (Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services) project. KALAHI is short for Filipino words " Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan," meaning "linking arms against poverty."

The US$182.4 million project, started in 2003, is funded mainly by the World Bank and implemented by the Philippine Department of Social Work and Development, which aims to empower communities through their enhanced participation in community projects that reduce poverty. Seventy percent of the program cost is shouldered by the World Bank while the remaining cost is equally shared by the municipalities and the villages.

Under the scheme, villagers were trained to identify their most urgent needs, design projects and write proposals to address the problems. The best proposals in the municipality will win the funding for the projects.

Education came to be one of the villagers' priorities.

"Parents are happy and everybody is pleased with the construction of the school. It gave us hope for the future," Patran said.

Recalling the first day in their newly-constructed school, Untoy Kamba and his friend Rolando, both 13, said they jumped up and down and were screaming and hugging each other as they saw the completed school building.

"This is good. I am encouraged to pursue my studies," Kamba said.

The school building consists of only two rooms, but equipped with bathroom facilities.

"We waited for so long and now we have a new classroom," he added.

Within six years, the World Bank-funded project aims to cover 25 percent of the poorest municipalities in the poorest 42, out of 79, provinces of the Philippines, equivalent to more than 4,000 villages in 182 municipalities. It strengthens community participation in local governance and develops local capacity to design, implement, and manage development activities. Besides schools, community grants are also used to support the building of low-cost, productive infrastructure such as roads, water systems and clinics.

According to Bert Hofman, country director of the World Bank in the Philippines, at a time when global economic uncertainties pose a significant additional challenge in the fight against poverty, the project continues to demonstrate its relevance in giving people living in the poorest communities an opportunity to take the lead in determining their own development priorities, including to provide them with the support and resources necessary to meet some of the most basic needs for infrastructure, water supply, and education and health.

"We see the positive effects of strong community ownership and the spirit of volunteerism; better technical quality, lower cost and good maintenance to ensure sustainability," Hofman said.

"Using a community approach, the project helped to unleash strength and creative abilities of community members to take greater responsibility and accountability in meeting their own needs," he added.

Hofman said that in implementing their priority sub-projects, community members are able to learn a range of development skills including, among others, project management, procurement, financial planning and management, meeting organization and audit and monitoring.

Esperanza Cabral, Social Welfare and Development Secretary of the Philippines, said that the government has initiated a fresher, more cost-effective, comprehensive and focused approach to poverty alleviation under the project.

"After five years of implementation, we see in KALAHI-CIDSS not just infrastructure, but individuals and communities that have embraced the power of hard work, cooperation, honesty and discipline through institutional trainings and hands on practice," Cabral said.

"Instead of being plain recipients of the project, they have taken control of their lives, ready to determine their collective destiny with partners in the fight against poverty and in pursuit of better life for everyone," she added.

"The true story of the project is not about government programs that build roads, hanging bridges and water reservoirs and school buildings, but the appreciation of the people," said Gemma Rivera, a regional official in the south.