For Josephine Binongo, life revolves around the four corners of their small home. The only thing that matters is that her family is able to eat three meals a day.

Their neighbors in Brgy Biga in Lobo town in Batangas Province admit to not knowing her much, because she is seldom seen participating in activities in their community.

But when Josephine started interacting outside her family, she was surprised that she still has a lot to learn, especially in improving her family’s situation.

Outside their home

Josephine’s family is one of the more than 300,000 family-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the CALABARZON Region. The said program, which is implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, provides conditional cash grants to qualified poor families in support for the needs on health, nutrition and education of children age zero to 18.

For Josephine’s poor family, whose only source of income is through fishing, the cash grants provided by the program help a lot with their finances particularly on the health and educational needs of their two children.

However, what she is more thankful for from the program is how it broadened her horizons—which started in her monthly involvement in the Family Development Sessions (FDS) of the program.

The FDS, a monthly gathering of parent-grantees, is one of the co-responsibilities of the beneficiaries of the program. It is a venue for teaching various topics, which include strengthening marital relationships, rights of children, financial management and community participation.

“Dahil sa FDS, marami akong natutunan. Dito ko nasimulang pahalagahan ang edukasyon at kalusugan ng mga anak ko. Dati, kuntento na ako na sa albularyo na lang dinadala ang mga bata kapag may sakit sila. Kahit sa day care, hindi ko rin magawang suportahan ang panganay ko noon,” Josephine shared.

Through the teachings in the FDS, she started giving priority to both education and health. Her two children are now in elementary and she realized the importance of getting services from the health center in their barangay and even the Rural Health Unit in the town proper.

Dealing with other people, with the future

“Natuto na rin akong makihalubilo sa kapwa at makilahok sa mga gawain sa baranggay,” shared Josephine.

With this, Josephine also became inspired to dream for a change in her family’s situation. With the financial help from the Pantawid Pamilya program, she is able to allot, and sometimes save, her husband’s income from fishing for their other needs.

“Nakabili na rin kami ng maliit na bangka na s’yang ginagamit ng asawa ko para sa araw-araw na pangingisda. Dahil dito, mas malaki na ang naiiuuwi n’ya para sa aming pamilya,” she said.

Josephine’s family was also able to acquire a goat and a hog, which became another source of their income. With this acquisition, Josephine is left with something productive to do at home and later helped her feel confident that she has valuable contributions in improving their life. She vows to keep this small business going so they can acquire more animals soon for added income.

“Kami ngayong mag-asawa ay patuloy na nagsusumikap upang tuloy-tuloy na maging mas maayos ang aming buhay. Bukod dito, patuloy pa rin naming pinalalawak ang aming kaalaman at bukas ang aming tahanan para mas mapabuti kami,” Josephine shared.

In going out of the comforts of her own home, Josephine has found not only happiness in dealing with other people. She also found lessons, inspirations and hope that she’ll be able to use to keep bringing her family towards the achievement of their dream of a better life. with reports from LMEspiritu, ML—Lobo, Batangas***