“I -almost- cannot finish my studies,” she said. Due to poverty and her mother’s health condition, April Joy Minasa almost stopped schooling back when she was in grade school. This is common to most poor families in the country. Children opt to either stay at home to take care of the family or work to help support their needs.

In an urban community in Barangay Langapod in the municipality of Labangan, Zamboanga Del Sur, lives a modest family whose source of income relies on rice farming. The meager income of April Joy’s father, Murdin, could hardly suffice the necessities of the children, let alone the medical expenses of her sickly mother, Norma. With 7 children, how could a farmer provide the daily expenses of his family and their educational expenditures? Mr. Mundir tried his luck to work as a cassava farmer in Lanao Del Sur but soon needed to return to Labangan to attend to his sick wife. He also was a charcoal maker and worked in a quarry. This is the farthest that he can get when it comes to employment because, Mundir admits, it is difficult to earn a living when one has not finished an educational degree. This is exactly why Mundir’s dream for his children is to attain a college diploma so they can have a decent job and ultimately a better life.

Good thing that the Minasa family became part of the country’s conditional cash transfer program named the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the DSWD. The 4Ps is mandated to provide support to poor families by investing in the education and health especially of the children. With this assistance from the government, Minasa family, including April Joy had a chance to make a difference in their lives with less worries on the financial aspect of education.

“I -almost- cannot finish my studies. But I was able to finish my studies because we became a beneficiary of the 4Ps program under set 4A” April Joy recalled the time when they were listed as beneficiaries of the 4Ps.

But more than the grants received by the family, what is more significant according to April Joy is the social case management conducted to them by the social workers of 4Ps. She has seen how the workers transformed their lives by providing social interventions that helped them escape the cycle of poverty. She felt the aid from the government through the social workers. Because of this, she, too, dreamt of becoming a Social Worker one day.

In college, she took a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work at the Western Mindanao State University in Pagadian City. April Joy finished the course in 2019 and passed the licensure examination for Social Workers last September 2022.

Presently, she was hired as a Municipal Link of the 4Ps program under the municipality of Manukan, Zamboanga Del Norte. One of her most favorite parts of the job is talking to poor families and helping shape their minds not only to alleviate their lives but ultimately to become contribute to the betterment of society. As former beneficiaries of the program, April Joy understands how valuable the Family Development Sessions (FDS) are in terms of providing awareness to poor families. And this is what she does now, ensuring that these families are aware of their potential should they have proper knowledge on how to raise their families.

April Joy was given the chance to break the cycle of poverty in her family, and now, she helps other families come out of their unprivileged situations as well. This is the true essence of being an exemplary and role model family in the society –by paying forward the goodness that was shown to them.

 

 

APRIL JOY T. MINASA, RSW

4Ps Beneficiary

Now Municipal Link- Manukan, Zamboanga del Norte