The only way out.  Joyce Malacad, 16, a resident of Brgy. Dalahican in Lucena City graduated as 1^st Honorable Mention among 409 graduates of Lucena-Dalahican National High School. For her, this achievement makes her one step closer to escaping from their current life—a life full of financial hardships in a community where violence is rampant.

Joyce is grateful to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, which helped their family financially especially in ensuring that all five of them are in school. As the eldest in the family, she vows to work harder in college to become the teacher she dreams to be and help the family finally get up.***

 

 ********************************************************************

ESCAPING FROM POVERTY

As she looks at her community, 16-year-old Joyce Malacad wants nothing but to escape.

A resident of Brgy. Dalahican in Lucena City, Joyce sees how hard it is to live in a squatter’s area where violence can happen anytime.

“Magulo dito sa community namin. Maingay at hindi safe. Pakiramdam ko, maya’t maya ay p’wedeng may magsaksakan na lang dito,” shared Joyce.

As the eldest of five siblings, Joyce wants nothing but get out of this community. She wants to get their own home in a place where they can sleep soundly at night and roam around without fear of any violence.

Thankfully, she’s a few years closer to achieving this dream. As she enrolls in college for this school year, Joyce vows to become a teacher and make this dream happen.

Thankful for her education

Joyce’s family is a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program since 2012. According to Joyce, the program helped a lot especially in ensuring all five of them are in school.

“Maysakit po ‘yung dalawa kong kapatid na epilepsy kaya pinili na lang ni mama na dito na lang sa bahay. Kaya ngayon, umaasa lang kami sa kita ni papa bilang fish vendor para sa lahat ng aming pangangailangan,” she shared.

Joyce added that as a family dependent on the sea, life is hard especially when the weather is bad.

“At dahil nga may sakit ang mga kapatid ko, hindi p’wedeng wala silang gamot. Minsan, kahit wala kaming makain basta may pambili lang sila ng gamot,” Joyce shared.

This situation in their life pushed Joyce to rethink of their life. She badly wanted to help her parents, especially that she is the eldest.

“Umabot na ako sa point na huminto ako sa pag-aaral noong 2^nd year high school ako. Gusto kong magtrabaho at tulungan silang kumita ng pera,” she added.

Good thing that she realized how important being educated is. After two weeks, she went back to school and never missed a class again.

When she graduated 1^st Honorable Mention among 409 graduates in Lucena-Dalahican National High School last March, Joyce is glad that she chose to be in school and her parents supported her up to this point. Her graduation means a lot to her as this brings her closer to her dream of getting out of their situation.

Commitment to achieve her dreams

“Alam ko na edukasyon lang talaga ang solusyon para makaalis kami sa hirap. Mag-aaral akong mabuti sa kolehiyo. Magpapatayo ako ng bahay sa lugar na hindi tulad dito at tutulungan kong makapagtapos din ang mga kapatid ko,” she shared with conviction.

Daisy, 36, Joyce’s mother, commits to support her in achieving her dreams. She gets occasional jobs doing laundry and cleaning homes to help her husband with the finances at home.

“Susuportahan namin sila hanggang makatapos sila. Ang gusto namin para sa kanila ay ‘yung magkaroon sila ng trabaho na kahit umulan man o umaraw ay hindi sila mawawalan. Hindi ‘yung katulad namin ngayon na kapag kumulo ang dagat ay kumukulo rin ang aming tiyan,” Daisy shared.

Further, Daisy believes she is a more responsible mother now, thanks to the lessons in the Family Development Sessions (FDS) of the Pantawid Pamilya program.

“Dahil sa FDS, ang laki ng pagbabago sa akin. Dati, nagsusugal ako (referring to bingo), pero ngayon wala na. Nailaan ko ang oras ko sa mga bata at nabibigyan ko sila ng atensyon at tamang suporta,” she shared with pride.

With Daisy’s support, Joyce is glad that she is not alone in achieving her dreams. Together with her parents and her siblings, Joyce commits to get out of this situation—an escape she’ll be making as her inspiration in the next couple of years she will be in college.***