Not having a home to call her own, Marina Flores could not count the number of restless nights wondering what might happen the next day.

“Pag gabi, iisipin ko pa kung saan kami titira kung bigla kaming paalisin dito,” said Marina, 37, a resident of Brgy. Bilucao in Sampaloc town in Quezon Province.

With six children, Marina dreams nothing but give them a good home and a good future. However, she doubts her and her husband’s capacity to give this to their children. She weaves mats for a living and her husband, Florentino, works as a construction worker.

Just recently, Marina cannot forget the feeling of peace and happiness when she finally saw a possibility of her dreams coming true.

Her family became a beneficiary of a housing unit under the Core Shelter Assistance Program (CSAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) implemented together with the local government unit of their town.

The CSAP is an intervention towards disaster mitigation and preparedness that provides structurally strong core shelter to families that can withstand winds up to 180kph and other natural hazards such as earthquakes.

Proud of her new home

As Marina looks at her home, she cannot hide how proud she is. She knows that they are not simply recipients of a gift from the government, but they are individuals who devoted their sweat and time to finally own a house.

“Pinatawag kami sa munisipyo at sinabing mabibigyan kami ng bahay. Nakiisa kami sa lahat ng proseso mula sa pagdalo sa mga meeting hanggang sa pakikipag-bayanihan para sa pagbuo ng mga bahay,” recalled Marina.

For Marina and her family, what makes this new home a better home is its story of how it was built.

“Bilang babae, tumulong ako pagdating sa paglilinis ng lugar na pagtatayuan ng mga bahay. ‘Yung mga kalalakihan naman ay tumulong sa construction ng mga bahay,” she shared.

Marina is also proud of how her new neighbors in the new community worked together for the project.

“Kami dito, tulungan talaga. ‘Yung asawa ko, kumuha ng tao para tumulong sa paggawa ng bahay namin tapos binayaran namin ng PhP250 isang araw,” Marina said.

In the construction of the core shelter units, it became a routine for the beneficiaries to work for each other. A household hires a worker and the household’s representative will later work for the construction of the worker’s unit.

“Palitan po ‘yung ginagawa namin. Kung ilang araw nagtrabaho ang asawa ko sa kanila, ganoon din katagal magtatrabaho sila sa amin. Kahit nagbabayad kami sa isa’t isa, parang hindi lumalabas ang pera at talagang nagtutulungan lang kami. Halos lahat kami dito ay ganoon ang ginawa,” she shared.

A couple of months in their new home, Marina feels glad and contented.

“Kampante na ang pag-iisip ko at nakakatulog na ako nang maayos sa gabi. Tuwang-tuwa kami dahil sa wakas, nagkabahay na rin kami,” shared Marina.

A stronger family now

Marina’s family is also a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, another program of the DSWD that provides conditional cash grants to qualified poor families in support for the needs on health, nutrition and education of children age zero to 18.

Her family is one of the more than 326,000 household-beneficiaries of the program in the CALABARZON Region.

As a mother, Marina is grateful for the program as it helps with the needs of her children. However, she is also thankful for the lessons she learned through the monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS).

The FDS is a component of the Pantawid Pamilya program and is one of the co-responsibilities of parent-grantees as beneficiaries of the program. These sessions teach various topics such as responsible parenthood, children’s rights, disaster preparedness and financial management among others.

“Marami akong natutunan sa FDS, ‘yung mga hindi ko napag-aralan sa sarili ko at hindi ko natutunan sa iba. Naging mas mabuting ina ako dahil napag-aralan namin na dapat maayos na kinakausap ang mga bata at dapat silang pahalagahan,” she said.

With their new home now, Marina promises to continue making their home a better place, especially for her children.

Without the worries of being homeless again, she can now focus on reaching her dreams for her children.

“Isa lang talaga ang pangarap ko ngayon para sa mga anak ko. ‘Yun ay’yung makapagtapos sila ng pag-aaral. Sa ngayon, sinisikap naming mag-asawa na pag-aralin sila sa tulong ng programa at sa aming paghahanap-buhay,” she shared.

Looking forward, Marina sees their new home and better family as inspirations to improve their lives. Far from the restless nights she used to spend worrying about the future, she can now spend these nights dreaming for a better life and waking up the next day to make the dreams happen.#