INVESTING ON CHILDREN. Clarence and Kevin are two of four children of Gina Perez of Brgy Duhat, Cavinti, Laguna.  Both children are witnesses to the various struggles of the family, such as living in a small home and having not enough money to spend for their needs. However, together with their two other siblings and their parents, this situation inspired them to work harder to improve their lives.

With the help of the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Gina is not only able provide her children’s needs, but also encouraged her to keep children in school so that they can develop their potentials and enable them to reach their dreams of experiencing a better life. Gina is grateful to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program as it opened a lot of opportunities for their family.***

 

 

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FEELING SECURED NOW

Looking at their life now, 37-year-old Gina Perez of Brgy. Duhat in Cavinti, Laguna Province cannot hide her happiness.

Though their life isn’t as comfortable as she has dreamed of, she knows her family is slowly getting there. Now that her husband has a regular income as a factory worker and she has put up a small ‘lugawan’ business, she’s positive that life will soon be better, especially now that her four children are in school.

For Gina, every opportunity to their family opened when they became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in 2013. And she’ll never forget that day in 2009, which led to her being a beneficiary of the program.

Being identified as poor

Gina recalled that while she was concentrating on weaving hats to sell at the end of the day, a staff from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) knocked in their home. She shared how she was embarrassed of their home as it was made of scrap wood and there were a lot of holes in their roof and their walls were patches of linoleum or plastic.

“Basta ang alam ko, pinatuloy ko sila sa bahay namin,” Gina shared.

She added that she simply answered the questions honestly and showed her small home to the staff who was then assessing their living condition. She did not know what will happen after, but she is thankful nonetheless that she participated in the survey, which was the National Household Targeting System, now Listahanan.

The Listahanan targeting system identifies who and where the poor are in the country and generates a database of poor households. This database is used by the DSWD and other agencies in identifying beneficiaries of programs for the poor.

For Gina, had she reacted otherwise, her family may still be in the same kind of situation they were in before.

Various opportunities

As a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilya program, Gina shares that the program has fulfilled its goals for her children.

“Masisipag ang mga anak ko sa pag-aaral. Dati, nagmamakaawa sila na papasukin hanggang high school pero lagi kong sinasabi na baka hindi namin kaya. Kapag may kailangan sila sa school, mangungutang ako pero wala namang magpapautang kasi alam nilang wala kaming pambayad,” Gina shared in tears.

She added that since her husband earns only Php100 a day as a tricycle driver and she earns Php50 a day as a hat weaver, they cannot afford much of the needs of the family, much more a high school education.

“Buti na lang talaga at nagkaroon ng programa. Ngayon, nasisiguro na naming nasusuportahan namin ang pag-aaral ng mga bata at unti-unti nilang naaabot ang kanilang mga pangarap,” Gina said.

For Gina, the security in the education of her children will always be the number one help of the program. However, she will not forget mentioning about how it helped their family in other ways.

“Noong dumating ang programa, nakapag-ipon kaming mag-asawa dahil ‘yung kinikita namin araw-araw ay hindi na namin nagagastos para sa pangangailangan nila sa school. Nakaipon kami at ginamit ng asawa kong pamasahe at panggastos para makapag-apply ng trabaho,” shared Gina.

Now, her husband is a factory worker in Calamba City. With his new job, he is able to bring more income to the family, which made their life more comfortable. Gina also opened a small ‘lugawan’ in their barangay, which also became a big help for the family’s finances.

“Nakakaipon na po kami para sa mga bata. ‘Yung buhay namin ngayon ay guminhawa ng konti, hindi tulad noon na hindi ko alam kung saan ako kukuha ng ipapakain sa mga anak ko,” she shared in tears.

She added that her husband’s employment gives security to their family now. She shared that when their house was destroyed by Typhoon Glenda last August 2014, her husband was able to take advantage of their calamity loan, which they used to repair their house.

Working for the future

With these opportunities, Gina and her husband Villamor became more fueled to help their children get a better life.

“Di kami tumitigil sa pagtatrabaho para sa kanila. Ayaw na naming ganito rin sila kapag nagkapamilya na sila, Gusto namin, makatapos sila at magkaroon ng maayos na trabaho para maayos ang maging buhay nila. Kahit hindi na nila kami tulungan ‘pag nakatapos sila, ang importante, maayos ang maging buhay nila,” she shared.

As a beneficiary of a government program, Gina knows that it is only through improving their life that they can actually pay back all the opportunities provided to them. Right now, she is committed to invest on her children’s education because she is confident that this is the only way to continuously improve their life, even if this takes several years of investment first.***