“Excited pumasok ngayon ang mga anak ko, kasi may mga bago silang gamit pang-eskwela,” shared 41-year-old Pia Parabas.

Nanay Pia, a resident of Brgy. San Ignacio in San Pablo City, Laguna, shares how happy she is today being a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Since 2011, they have been receiving conditional support from the program for the educational and health needs of her three younger children.

For Nanay Pia, she can never be prouder seeing her children go to school as she herself was denied of her dream to get an education. Raised from a poor family, Nanay Pia has only reached up to second grade. Evident in her lack of education is her timidity, her writing capability only limited to doing her name and her reading skills almost non-existent.

“Dahil hindi ako pinaaral ng mga magulang ko, gustong-gusto ko na pag-aralin ang mga anak ko. Kaya kahit mahirap ang buhay namin, pinagpupurisigihan naming mapagtapos sila,” she shared.

The physical challenge

Nanay Pia is born with a disability that she is sad she had genetically passed on to all her seven children. All of them are limp. However, their disability did not hinder them to dream and make it happen. For Nanay Pia, her only dream for her children is to experience a better life—far from what she is giving them today.

Lucky for her, thanks to Pantawid Pamilya, her three younger children are kept in school. Her older children age 19, 18 and 15 have finished grade school. With tears, Nanay Pia shared how hurt and disappointed she was when they chose not to continue their schooling and rather insisted on helping their father vend for toys during fiestas. However, she is not losing hope with her younger ones, who all dream to be a teacher someday.

Her children’s determination to go to school is proven by their strengths both physically and emotionally. She relayed that classmates are sometimes teasing her children for their condition. However, they are not losing hope.

Moreover, despite the physical challenge, all her children walk to school. With their house in the river banks, the children have to climb a steep path to get out of their compound. Then, they have to settle with walking on their own along a coconut farm before reaching the highway where they still need to walk a small distance to their school. In all, the children spend almost a complete hour to go to school.

Chasing their dreams

Nanay Pia, in their small home by the river, never stops reminding her children the importance of education. She knows that it is their only key towards a better life someday.

“Hindi ko pababayaan ang mga anak ko. Paglaki nila, kapag nakapag-aral sila, mas maganda ang magiging buhay nila. Magsusumikap kami para suportahan sila,” Nanay Pia said.

Besides educating her children, Nanay Pia is glad she has a chance to learn, too. Through the Family Development Sessions (FDS) she attends to as one of her co-responsibilities with Pantawid Pamilya, she admits knowing things her parents failed to teach her when she was growing up. According to Nanay Pia, she left home at the age of 13 so she can help her family earn a living.

Her difficulty in reading did not hinder Nanay Pia to learn during sessions. According to her, she asks the help of her children reading notes so she can understand them.

“Sa FDS, natutunan ko ang tamang pag-aayos ng pamilya katulad ng tamang pakikitungo sa asawa at maayos na pagdidisiplina sa mga bata,” she shared.

For Nanay Pia, it is not her disability or her lack of education that will hinder her dreams for her children. She will continue supporting them to ensure that they finish their studies and achieve whatever they want as professionals. She intends to give her children the life-changing education that she has been deprived of when she was younger.(NJMMayor)***