A mother’s certainty of a good future for her family

She may not be proud of it today, but 41-year-old Zephora Cantillana shares that people in their community know her as ‘laman ng sugalan.’

“Kapag tinanong mo ang pangalan ko sa lugar namin, tiyak sa sugalan ang turo nila,” shares Zephora, a resident of Brgy. Guihay in Lopez, Quezon.

Her days spent on playing ‘tong-its,’ ‘bingo’ and ‘majong’ are not mainly because of a hobby nor any form of addiction. For Zephora, it’s her way of earning money and ensuring food on the table for her three children.

However, no matter how good her intentions were, her gambling did not do anything good for her family. Thankfully, things turned out differently for her.

Zephora is now a known leader and volunteer in their community.

Finding a new direction

Zephora’s gambling turned a lot of things upside down in their family. There came a time when all of her husband’s income as a maintenance worker by day and a tricycle driver by night was used to pay off her debts from gambling. 

“Ang mga utang ko sa magkakabilang sugalan, ito na ‘yung naging simula ng madalas na pagtatalo naming mag-asawa. Pero tuloy pa rin ako, nagsusugal nang patago,” shared Zephora.

In 2011, their family became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, a national government program that provides conditional cash grants to qualified poor families to support the needs on health and education of children zero to 18 years old.

“Bagamat tinuturo sa FDS (referring to Family Development Sessions) na bawal ang pagsusugal, tuloy pa rin ako. Dumating din sa punto na pati ang asawa ko ay nakumbinse ko na magsugal na rin,” she shared.

The FDS is a component of the Pantawid Pamilya program that gathers parent-grantees and teaches them on various topics including strengthening marital relations, children’s rights, financial management and disaster preparedness among others.

Zephora shared that she discusses her learning from the FDS with her children, which was why her children knew that one of the lessons in the FDS is that gambling is not encouraged among Pantawid Pamilya households.

The DSWD encourages and teaches all beneficiaries to be responsible with their finances and allot their resources for the needs of their family.

“Isang araw, tinanong kami ng mga anak namin kung bakit kami nagsusugal. Nakaramdam kami ng kahihiyan kaya’t nagdesisyon kaming mag-asawa na itigil ang pagsusugal at ilaan na lamang ang aming kita para sa pangangailangan ng aming mga anak,” she shared.

A better direction for the whole family

From the time they stopped gambling, Zephora shared that they became more responsible parents to their children. Also, the program opened their eyes to give more attention to the health and education of their children.

“Naging masigasig kaming sundin ang mga kundisyon at alituntunin ng programa. Dahil din sa tulong ng programa, mas lalo naming pinagbuti ang paghahanapbuhay para tuluy-tuloy na suportahan ang pangangailangan ng aming mga anak,” shared Zephora.

In 2013, she was chosen as a parent leader of the group of Pantawid Pamilya grantees in their barangay.

“Sa pagiging parent leader din nagsimula ang pagiging aktibo ko sa barangay. Naging miyembro ako ng Samahan ng Kababaihan at naging barangay health worker,” she proudly shared.

With their continuous hard work, Zephora knows that they are closer to their dream of a better life for their children and their family. All her children are doing well in school.

“Nakapagpundar na kami ng mga gamit sa bahay at sariling tricycle na nakatutulong na madagdagan ang kita ng aming pamilya,” she shared.

For Zephora, she is grateful that at some point, she was directed to the right path. As a mother and a community member who has learned a lot of things along the way, she is confident that her family’s dream of a better life will be achieved.#