May 14, 2025 – A child and her family’s commitment to reach their dreams.

“Engineer na po ako!”

Charlene Balasbas, 22, a resident of Brgy. Bangin in San Nicolas, Batangas, still remembers how her heart raced as she checked if she made it on the list of passers of the April 2025 Civil Engineers Licensure Examination.

As she saw her name and shared the news to her family, she can only label her feelings as pure joy.

“Tunay ngang walang imposible sa isang pamilyang handang magtulungan para sa ikabubuti ng isa,” shared Charlene.

With this special milestone in her life, she puts emphasis not only in simply dreaming but more importantly, in taking a step forward.

“Hindi sapat ang mangarap lamang, nararapat na sabayan ito ng aksyon, dedikasyon, pananampalataya, tiwala sa sarili, at pagpapahalaga sa mga tao at programang tumutulong sa atin,” Charlene said.

Starting with a dream

Charlene, the second of five siblings, shares that her dreams to become an engineer started in the four corners of their humble home.

“Sa isang tahanang ang dingding ay sasa at ang pundasyon ay kawayan, isinilang ang isang pangarap na mas matibay pa sa konkreto,” she recalled.

Her father, who works as a tricycle driver, and her mother, who is a house helper, have been very supportive of her dreams. Unfortunately, their sacrifices were almost always not enough.

“Naranasan naming mamuhay sa dilim, umaasa sa kandila tuwing gabi at mag-igib ng tubig upang maibsan ang uhaw sa bawat araw,” she shared.

According to Charlene, despite her dreams, it was easy to let these go due to the hardships. However, their whole family persisted.

“Noong Oktubre 2012, nagbago ang takbo ng aming buhay. Napansin ng DSWD ang aming kalagayan [sa pamamagitan ng survey], at ito ang nagbukas ng pintuan upang maging kasali kami sa 4Ps [Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program],” she shared.

With the assistance of the 4Ps, their family found bigger hope for their dreams.

“Hindi na namin kailangang mag-alala sa pambili ng school supplies at pandagdag sa allowance,” said Charlene, who added that this also paved way for her to excel in school and graduate with awards.

Making the dream happen

When she reached college, Charlene shared that despite no longer being a directly monitored child-beneficiary of the 4Ps, the program remained a big help for her.

“Patuloy ang suporta ng 4Ps sa aming pamilya, kaya’t natulungan nito ang aking mga magulang sa pagpapaaral sa aking tatlo pang nakababatang kapatid,” she shared.

Because of this, her parents were able to support her with the help of her elder sister, who is already a professional teacher.

“Bilang ganti sa kanilang mga sakripisyo, naghanap din po ako ng scholarship at naghanap din po ako ng pagkakakitaan,” said Charlene, who received various scholarships from the local government and other institutions. 

Last May 30, 2024, she graduated from college and almost a year later, she became a licensed civil engineer.
These days, Charlene is applying for jobs in various agencies so she can gain enough experience and start earning for her other dreams. [Based from the narrative submitted by Charlene Balasbas I with reports from MLBiscocho]