“Nothing shapes your life than the commitments you choose to make. They can develop you or destroy you, but either way they will define you.” RICK WARREN

DAUIN, Negros Oriental - Aside from the fact that both of them live in Dauin Alicia Tenido and Virginia Alido don't share much in common. Tenido, 48, is a couple peer educator (CPE) while Alido, 34, is a Bantay Dagat tanod (ocean watch deputized enforcer). While Tenido performs her task in an undisputedly women's domain, Alido is the only female in the eight-member Poblacion District 1 Dauin United Fishermen's Association (PODDUFA) Bantay Dagat tanod team.

Tenido does her thing in the humble homes of her assigned purok (cluster) in Bulac while Alido scans the seawaters in the nine-hectare marine sanctuary in Sitio Lupa, Poblacion I. Divergent as their tasks may seem however, both women are brought together by a common passion for advocacy that integrates population, health and environment espoused by PATH Foundation Philippines .

A barangay (village) health worker since 1984, Tenido was introduced to population management advocacy through seminars where she realized the urgency of planning the family especially among the poor. With five children to feed largely on the earnings of her husband who alternates between farming and fishing, Tenido speaks from experience when she interacts with women in the purok. A fisherman's daughter, Alido grew up to the sights of fishing boats docking on the shores of Lupa, the part of Poblacion I which is the present site of the marine reserve. After completing seminars on coastal resource management, she realized that unless the village acts fast, the time will come when the fish on which most of the villagers subsist will disappear forever.

Things turned for the better in 1996 when the village declared the waters off Lupa as a protected area. Instead of serving as a docking area where the fishermen unload their trash and gasoline waste, the marine reserve has become a favorite dive spot that has become a source of livelihood for the PODDUFA members and their families.

On a good month, the village earns as much as P50,000 out of fees collected from divers who marvel at the corals and the marine life in the sanctuary. Tenido receives a P300 monthly honorarium for her efforts while Alido is entitled to a P250 monthly honorarium aside from her earnings out of the barangay's 20% share in the gross income out of the proceeds of the marine reserve fees. Both women however admit that managing the population is a crucial factor that will determine the survival of future generations in their respective villages. Both not only realized the immensity of the problem but also the crucial role that they play as stakeholders in separate seminars conducted by PATH. It is no surprise therefore that their lives are being shaped by the commitments they have chosen to make in their respective areas of responsibilities. Tenido and Alido. Two women at the crossroads, brought together by PATH.