Elvira Cuadra, a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program from Brgy. Esperanza Ibaba in Alfonso, Cavite, is now a proud mother of three-year-old James Daryll who has Down syndrome. According to her, it is not easy to accept his son’s situation, especially when other people call him different names.

“Dati, hindi ko po talaga s’ya kinukuhaan ng PWD ID kasi ayaw ko pong tanggapin ang kalagayan n’ya. Pero noong nag-FDS kami sa Pantawid tungkol sa Pagkilala at Pagtanggap sa mga may Kapansanan, naintindihan ko na dapat mahalin, tanggapin at bigyan s’ya ng halaga. Ngayon, mas naiintindihan ko na kung ano ang mga kailangan n’ya,” Elvira shared.

The FDS, or the Family Development Session, is a component of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program that teaches parent-grantees on various topics including child’s rights, budget management, responsible parenthood and disaster preparedness among others. Monthly attendance to these sessions is one of the co-responsibilities of the beneficiaries to the program.# with reports from JARAGomez