A housewife’s journey to improving her family and others, too

 

With twenty pesos to budget for her four children for a few weeks at a time, 40-year-old Estrella Atienza never thought that she’ll finally taste a better life.

Estrella, a resident of Brgy. Poblacion in San Francisco, Quezon Province, cannot forget the agony of not having the capacity to keep food on the table. She narrates how she would often go to her neighbors to ask for vegetables or look for shellfish in the nearby shore just so she can feed her children’s empty stomach.

“Kapag kasi umaalis ang asawa ko para magtrabaho sa bundok, iniiwanan n’ya lang ako ng bente pesos. Pinagkakasya ko na lang ‘yun hanggang makabalik s’ya, minsan ilang linggo pa ang bibilangin bago pa s’ya bumalik,” Estrella shared.

Today, however, she is just glad that she has Php300 to Php500 to budget daily. This she owes to the various opportunities brought to her coupled with her determination, hard work and commitment to get her children out of poverty.

Finding direction

Two years ago, Estrella vowed to send all her children to college. Today, her eldest has just finished a degree in Agriculture. As a mother, she can never be any prouder.

Looking back at their situation, Estrella never thought that she’ll achieve this. However, she found hope in 2008 when her family qualified to be a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. For a mother with only twenty pesos to spare, the cash grants from the program have become a great help not only in ensuring food on the table but also in keeping her children healthy and in school all the time.

“Noon, dinadaan ko na lang sa dasal ang sakit ng mga anak ko kasi wala kaming pera. Pero ngayon, nabibilhan ko na sila ng vitamins at napapacheckup na. Hindi na rin namin problema ang baon nila at mga bayarin sa school,” she shared.

However, Estrella learned not to rely on the program completely.

“Ayaw kong iasa na lang ang lahat sa Pantawid kaya naman nagsisikap talaga akong kumita ng pera. Kapag umasa na lang kami, baka bumalik na lang kami sa dati,” she shared.

With her husband, she started an appliance buy-and-sell business through the Php10,000.00 capital seed assistance provided by the DSWD under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).

The SLP builds the capacities of beneficiaries for micro-enterprise development and provides them with zero-interest capital seed assistance to start their small businesses. The program targets beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya like Estrella to enable them to improve their socio-economic status and stand on their own.

After a year, Estrella was able to pay her loan from the program and her buy-and-sell business has become a stable source of income for her family, especially in sending her children to college.

 

Giving others direction, too

For Estrella, both the Pantawid Pamilya and SLP have paved way for her to change her family’s life. Seeing one of her children having a college diploma only fuels her desire to move forward. She knows that with education, her children will have better opportunities to have an improved life. Hence, she wants other people to experience the same.

Together with other SLP beneficiaries in their municipality who have good track record in paying their previous loan, Estrella became a member of the Sagisag ng SEA-K Association. The association was loaned Php80,000.00, which is equivalent to Php10,000.00 per member, through SLP’s Agricultural Development Sustainability Project.

The group used the capital in buying and selling ubi crops. They buy the crops mostly from poor farmers who are also beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya and SLP adding only 50 centavos profit per kilo. The crops are later transported to Global Foods Solutions, a partner of the DSWD who buys all the products at a good price from the association.

They also lend ubi seedlings to poor farmers, who pay the association after the harvest.

“Bilang treasurer ng grupo, ako na rin ang tumatayong project manager. Mula sa Php80,000.00 na capital, meron na kaming Php140,000.00 sa loob lamang ng isang taon. Plano naming bumili ng mga kagamitan para makagawa kami ng harinang ubi para patuloy ang paglago ng aming samahan,” shared Estrella.

With their goal of succeeding altogether as an association, each member does his / her part in the buying and selling business. In fact, even their spouses work to find possible sellers all across the locality.

“Dito, gusto rin naming tulungan ang mga mahihirap na magsasakang katulad namin para hindi na sila maloko sa presyuhan. Ang hinihingi lang namin sa kanila ay sa amin na nila ibenta ang kanilang ubi para kaming mga mahihirap ay sabay sabay na makaahon,” Estrella shared.

For Estrella, she does not want anyone to experience living only with twenty pesos to spare, especially her children. Hence, she is working hard today to give everyone the chance to change their lives just like what these opportunities offered her when she thought there’s no more hope.***