“Kilala ako dahil sa pakikipag-away. Simula noong nagkaroon ng Pantawid, natigil ito at natoto akong magpasencia at tumulong sa paghahanapbuhay ng aking asawa,” Ma. Leonora de Vera, a Pantawid Program beneficiary of from Cavite City, Cavite Province shared.

 

 

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A FIGHT WORTH FIGHTING FOR

 

She is known in their neighborhood for her bad temper, but it’s a thing of the past already.

Thirty-year-old Ma. Leonora de Vera, a resident of Brgy. 10B in Cavite City, Cavite Province, admits to engaging in fights most of the time. She shares that because of the gossips she usually hears, she’s unable to control her anger and confronts people right at their faces.

“Kilala ako sa barangay dahil sa mga pakikipag-away ko. Pati nga sa away ng mga bata, pag kasali ang mga anak ko, nakikigulo na rin ako. Sa bahay naman, kahit maliliit na bagay, nag-aaway kaming mag-asawa,” Leonora admitted.

Contrary to her image in the barangay before, Leonora is now a picture of a responsible mother who works harder every day to ensure a happy home and a good future for her children. For Leonora , this all happened when their family was provided various opportunities as a beneficiary of the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

 

Thankful for the opportunities

Leonora is a housewife who relies on her husband’s income as a construction worker to support their daily needs, particularly of their four children. From time to time, she vends snacks in the neighborhood to augment her husband’s income.

“Problema talaga namin ang pagbili ng mga pangunahing pangangailangan dito sa bahay. At dahil tatlo ‘yung anak naming sabay-sabay na pumapasok, hindi rin kami makabayad sa mga contributions sa school,” Leonora shared.

She said that when they became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilya program in 2012, she can never be thankful for the help, particularly for the children’s health and education.

“Nakakabili na agad kami ng mga pagkain katulad ng bigas at gatas. Kahit nga vitamins nila, napaglalaanan na namin. Tapos, wala na kaming utang sa school,” she shared.

For Leonora, though she cannot hide how thankful she is for the cash grants provided by the program, she is also grateful to how the program provided her opportunities to be a better person. In her attendance to the monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS), she shared that she learned how to be patient, to handle gossips and improve her relationship with her husband.

 

A good life today and tomorrow

Leonora’s days are no longer filled with shouts and fights; instead, her days are spent on helping her husband earn a living so she can support the other needs of the family.

“Simula noong nagkaroon ng Pantawid, nakakaipon na kami kahit paunti-unti lang. Ginamit namin ang aming ipon para makapag-alaga ng baboy,” she shared.

Since hog raising does not require a lot of her time, she still continuously vends snacks in the neighborhood. With her hard work and determination, she knows she is more capable now of providing a good future for her four children.

Though she does not say that life is now easy, at least today, she does not waste her time on engaging in useless fights. Instead, she has found a better fight—to support her children and give them a better life.# (with reports from RGMSarmiento)