Eliza Abreu, a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program from Brgy. Mabato, Maragondon, Cavite, makes and sells bamboo sticks to help her husband, who is construction worker, to support their three children. According to her, the program is more than just the cash grants provided to every beneficiary. She is grateful that being an active beneficiary for about five years now gives her new knowledge and perspectives in life as well as good friends she can count on all the time.***

 

 

 

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IT’S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY

For about five years now, Eliza Abreu has been a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, at least on paper.

Thirty five-year-old Eliza, a resident of Brgy. Mabato in Maragondon, Cavite Province, remembers the first time she received cash grants from the program. It was in 2010, the first and the last payout she has ever experienced.

Nevertheless, Eliza remains one of the most active beneficiaries in the barangay.

 

More than the money

Municipal Link Elsa Hingpit shares that Eliza’s is a case of double entry, where her name is still active in their old residence in Batangas Province. ML Elsa added that they have been working on updating her information in the database so that Eliza will eventually receive the grants due to her family, especially her three children.

“Sa mga kaso ng double entry, hindi talaga nakakatanggap ng cash grant ang mga benepisyaryo hanggang hindi pa nareresolba ang problema para maiwasan ang pagbabayad ng doble sa mga pamilya. Kapag naayos ang kanyang record, buo n’yang matatanggap ang cash grant dahil patuloy naman silang minomonitor at patuloy rin naman ang kanyang pagsunod sa mga kondisyon ng programa,” shares ML Elsa.

According to Elsa, she is glad that Eliza never loses hope and remains faithful to the program despite not receiving cash grants every payout period.

Eliza is a housewife who makes and sells bamboo sticks for a living. She shares that life is hard, especially that her husband is only an on-call construction worker.

“Para sa akin, hindi naman pera-pera lang ‘yung programa. Marami akong natutunan dito lalo na sa pag-attend ko sa buwanang FDS at sa pakikisalamuha ko sa ibang tao,” Eliza says.

 

The right path

Eliza shares that she used to play bingo almost every day.

“Dahil sa programa, talagang itinigil ko ang pagbibingo. Natutunan ko na imbes na gastusin ko ang pera sa sugal, gamitin ko na lang ito sa mas makabuluhang bagay katulad ng mga pangangailangan ng mga bata. At ‘yung oras ko, ilalaan ko na lang sa paghahanapbuhay at pag-aasikaso ng mga bata,” Eliza proudly shares.

This change in her perspective also fueled Eliza’s dream to improve her children’s living condition. According to her, she does not want her children to be like her, who learned to make bamboo sticks at an early stage to ensure food on their table.

According to her, even without the cash grants from the program, it is her responsibility as a parent to send her children to school. Hence, she works hard every day to support them. In fact, all her three children are in school now, one is graduating from high school this March.

“Natutunan ko rin dito ang tamang pagdidisiplina sa aming mga anak. Noon, talagang pinapalo ko sila dahil ‘yun ang alam kong tama. Malayo ang loob ng mga anak ko sa akin, sa kapitbahay pa nga sila lumalapit kaysa sa akin kapag may problema sila. Ngayon, isinasabuhay ko na kausapin sila nang maayos, naging mas maganda na ang aming samahan,” she says.

 

Having friends

Eliza has unending reasons to continuously be active in the Pantawid Pamilya program. Besides the new knowledge she acquires from the sessions, she is glad to have found new friends because of the program.

From the monthly meetings and community activities of the Pantawid Pamilya program in their barangay, Eliza has dealt with other parent-grantees (about 40 of them), who she now calls friends.

“Napakasarap pala sa pakiramdam na may dumaramay sa’yo kapag may problema ka. Dati, balewala lang sila sa akin, hindi kami magkakakilala. Ngayon, para na akong may mga kapatid,” she says.

As she controls her tears, Eliza talks about how she was greatly moved when all these friends surprised her with a gift just last Christmas.

“Sama-sama silang pumunta sa bahay namin dala ang isang basket ng grocery. Tuwang-tuwa talaga ako dahil kung tutuusin, hindi naman nila ako kailangang bigyan,” Eliza shares.

From the group’s earnings from the trash to cash project they started since June 2014, the group, according to parent leader Josephine Talmadge, decided to allot some of it for Eliza.

“Kaming lahat dito nakakatanggap ng grant mula sa Pantawid, pero s’ya naghihintay pa rin. Bilang nagmamalasakit sa kanya, napagdesisyunan naming magregalo sa kanya dahil napakaaktibo n’ya sa lahat ng aming gawain,” shares Josephine.

For Eliza, the money from the program will come when everything is settled. For now, she is glad that she stays in the program not just because of the money, but because of the countless blessings of learning new things and keeping good friends along the way.****