“Kailangan ko pong maging matatag para sa mga anak ko dahil kung susuko ako, paano na sila? Kaya’t kakayanin ko, gaano man kahirap.”

For 47-year-old Ginamie Ana-as of General Mariano Alvarez in Cavite Province, raising four children alone entails countless sleepless nights and breakdowns during ordinary days. The current pandemic, however, make her burden more worrisome.

Struggles of a single provider

For three years, Ginamie has been supporting her children alone due to conflicts with her husband. Since then, she has been doing laundry services to provide for the needs of her children, especially that her husband does not provide support for them after the separation.

Doing laundry does not provide enough income to feed her family; however, despite her will to find another job, her youngest child is sickly and requires close attention.

“Naubos na po ang mga gamit namin sa bahay sa pagbebenta ko may kainin lamang po ang mga anak ko,” she shared.

What makes their situation even worse is the additional mouths to feed in their household. Her eldest child got pregnant at the age of fifteen and is now raising three children of her own in the same household.

Receiving aid during the quarantine

Ginamie admitted being anxious as to how she will ensure food on the table when the community quarantine was placed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. If ordinary days have been hard for them, the quarantine period became more challenging, especially in earning an income for the family.

She was delighted when she heard of the news that the national government will be providing aid to poor families like them through the Social Amelioration Program (SAP). Thankfully, her family was validated to qualify for the aid.

The SAP is a cash emergency subsidy program provided by the national government that targeted 18 million poor Filipino families whose lives are greatly affected by the Enhanced Community Quarantine. Its implementation is headed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) along with other government agencies and local government units.

Ginamie received PhP 6,500, which she is very grateful for.

“Malaking tulong ang nakuha ko pong ayuda galing sa DSWD dahil nkabili po ako ng makakain naming pamilya katulad po ng bigas at mga pang-ulam. Nakabili din po ako ng gatas at vitamins ng bunso kong anak at iba pa pong mga kailangan sa bahay,” she shared.#