To her surprise, she learned that she can do things other than her usual house chores.

 “Simula nang nagkapamilya ako, nasanay akong nasa bahay lang para alagaan ang mga anak ko at gawin ang mga gawaing bahay,” shared Maylen Aleta, a mother of three and a resident of Brgy. Calo in Lobo, Batangas Province.

Little did she know that all those years, she no longer is making decisions, afraid to even come up with one. She became timid and quiet, not comfortable dealing with her neighbors and going out to participate in community activities.

Only when she went out of her comfort zone did she realize that she has lost her self-esteem and gaining it back will lead her to various possibilities.

 

Recovering her self-esteem

It was in 2011 when Maylen started seeing a life for herself outside her home when she became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

The Pantawid Pamilya program is a human capital development program of the national government that supports the needs on health, nutrition and education of children zero to 18 years old belonging to qualified poor families.

As part of the program, parent-grantees are engaged in various activities including monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS) and community activities.

Maylen, as a beneficiary of the program, started interacting with other people, mostly are poor mothers like her. She started off being shy and timid; however, she later learned to deal with them as she slowly gained friends she can talk to regarding just about everything.

A couple of years into the program, Maylen was chosen as a parent leader. This paved way for her to recover herself better.

“Napagkasunduan nilang ako ang maging lider nila. Sa paggawa ko ng aking mga tungkulin, natuto akong makihalubilo sa ibang tao at maging responsable para sa iba at para sa aming komunidad. Dahil sa FDS at sa mga training para sa mga parent leaders, nadagdagan ang aking kaalaman at bumalik ang tiwala ko sa sarili ko,” Maylen shared.

As a result, Maylen was able to freely communicate her opinion not only at home and in the group but also in front of other people she barely knows.

“Nang dahil sa programa, nakita kong mayroon pa palang ibang bagay na kaya kong gawin bukod sa mga gawaing bahay,” she added.

 

Changing their future

As a housewife, Maylen feels how hard their life is as she has to budget her husband’s meager income as a farmer of around Php3,000 a month for all of their needs. At times, her husband Ruben will bring home a smaller income, which would even be harder to budget for the whole family.

“Naging malaking tulong sa amin ang perang natatanggap namin mula sa programa. Inilalaan ko talaga iyon para sa pag-aaral ng mga bata. Dahil din sa tulong na ito, nagawa naming mapagtapos ang panganay namin sa high school,” Maylen shared.

More than the financial help, the program also fueled their dreams for their children and her being a leader helped her in standing up for some of the decisions at home.

“Naalala ko kung paano kami tinaguyod ng aming mga magulang para kahit high school ay makatapos kami. Sa kabila ng kahirapan, patuloy silang nagsumikap,” she shared.

She added that she always think of her parents as her inspiration when it comes to sending their children to school.

“Kung sila nga kinaya nilang itaguyod kami, alam kong kaya rin naming itaguyod ang aming mga anak lalo pa ngayon at may suportang pinansyal at dagdag-kaalaman mula sa Pantawid,” she said.

Maylen and her husband do not promise that they can support their children up to college, but they are working together to at least support them to get their high school diploma. This way, they know their children have better chances of improving their lives.

For Maylen, the program has truly been a great help for her children. However, she won’t forget how this opportunity widened her horizons and helped her realize that there are a lot of opportunities for her family outside the comforts of their home. with reports from ACGuerra, Municipal Link***