Angeles Rañola, 38, a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program from Brgy. Zone 3 in Dasmariñas City, Cavite Province, shares how her family’s life changed through the interventions of the program before a crowd of more than 5,000 people during the National Family Day held in the city last September 2014. She also encourages other beneficiaries like her to work harder and dream bigger for their families, especially their children.
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HER VOICE, HER PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY
She used to be a ‘nobody’ in their community.
Angeles Rañola (Agnes), 38, a resident of Brgy. Zone 3 in Dasmariñas City, Cavite Province, shared how her neighbors would gossip about her—a housewife struggling to feed her family of seven through doing laundry.
“Naririnig ko na sinasabi nila kung kaya ko bang buhayin ang pamilya ko sa paglalaba ko, marami raw akong utang at ‘yung mga anak ko, kahit pambayad sa tricycle papuntang school, wala,” she recalled.
Today, however, people in their barangay know her not because of those usual gossips, but of how she has transformed from being a ‘nobody’ to being an advocate of change.
Finding her place
In 2012, Agnes’ family became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
According to her, the program greatly helped their family financially, especially in supporting the school needs of her children. However, more than the cash grants, Agnes shared that she is grateful that the program helped her find her place in their community.
Since the program started, Agnes was selected parent leader among grantees in their cluster.
“Simula noong naging parent leader ako, mas lumawak ang kaalaman ko. Natuto akong makisalamuha sa ibang tao at naramdaman kong unti-unti akong nirerespeto ng mga tao. Bilang isang lider, talagang nakatutok ako sa mga miyembro ko. Talagang nagbabahay-bahay ako, kahit malayo, maparating lang ang kailangang impormasyon para sa kanila,” shared Agnes.
She added that she was presented with various opportunities to broaden her horizons as a parent leader.
“Marami akong natutunan sa mga training na nadaluhan ko bilang isang parent leader. Nagkaroon ako ng tiwala sa sarili ko hindi lang dahil sa mas marami na akong nakakasalamuhang mga tao kundi dahil natuto na rin akong magbahagi ng aking kaalaman sa iba. Pakiramdam ko, marami akong natutulungan sa pagbabahagi ng mga natututunan ko,” she shared.
An advocate of change
For Agnes, sharing her time and knowledge especially to other beneficiaries is one of her commitments to Pantawid Pamilya—a program which provided her a lot of opportunities not just in providing for the needs of her children but also in finding her worth as a person.
“Lagi kong ipinapaalala sa mga members ko na dapat isapuso at isabuhay ang ibinibigay na aral ng Pantawid lalo na sa FDS,” she shared.
She added that even if she can’t help her members when it comes to their financial worries, at least she can help them through reminding them of the worth of the program and what it is teaching them.
“Sinasabi ko sa kanila ang halaga ng edukasyon para sa pagpapaunlad ng kanilang pamilya at lalo na ang kahalagahan ng pangangalaga ng kalusugan ng bawat isa,” Agnes said.
Agnes’ performance as a parent leader allowed her to gain the trust of not only her members, but also other people in their community. Their barangay captain has seen her dedication and has offered her to work as a barangay health worker, an additional role but also an added source of income for their family.
She was also able to make good ties with their barangay through her group’s active community participation such as attendance to assemblies, clean-up drives and community gardening among others. Together with her members, she has initiated waste segregation in their barangay.
“Inihanda kami ng mga natutunan ko mula sa programa kung paano magsalita at maging bahagi ng pagbabago. Dahil buo ang tiwala ko sa layunin ng programa, nagtitiwala ako na kaya kong ibahagi ang mga layunin nito sa ibang tao. Kahit sinuman ang magtanong sa akin, kaya kong sagutin lalo na kung paano ito nakakatulong sa mga benepisyaryong katulad ko,” she shared with confidence.
Looking back, Agnes never thought that she’ll be considered a ‘somebody’ in their community. She never imagined how a simple housewife and laundrywoman be respected by her neighbors, talk in front of a crowd and even be interviewed by a national television network. What more, she never imagined being able to talk and more importantly, be heard.
Agnes, however, does not stop on simply sharing what she learned from the program. According to her, what is more important is that she is able to apply it for the development of her own family.
Today, all her children are in school and never miss a day, or a school project. Her eldest is now in college. Despite financial hardships every now and then, she and her husband ensure that they are taken care of and provided with good education to finally be able to improve their lives in the future.
For Agnes, being ‘somebody’ means being able to help her family and the rest of her community get up and experience a good life.***