85 Indigenous People (IP) families from the Municipality of Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay have received motorized boats as livelihood kits from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) under the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) track.

Four barangays and associations benefited from the initiative namely: Taguisian Islanders Association (42 beneficiaries); Tandu-Comot Taguisian Islanders Association (22 beneficiaries); and CaliPam (Caliran and Pamansaan) Islanders Association with 21 beneficiaries.

The turn-over of livelihood kits was possible through the Support Service Intervention (SSI) feature of the program which aims to uplift the socio-economic status of the MCCT beneficiaries through services such as Cash For Work (CFW), livelihood assistance, grassroots organizing activities, family camp, and rent subsidy for Homeless Street Families (HSF) and IP Itinerant beneficiaries.

The Department has utilized a total amount of P360,000 for these motorized boats livelihood SSI.

According to the MCCT Focal in DSWD-9, Germiah Bongabong, “the 4Ps program does not only provide grants for the beneficiaries. More than that, we engage and empower them through capacity building and skills trainings so they themselves could create livelihood opportunities in their communities.”

Missong A. Hadjael, 35, a member of Sama Tribe in the municipality of Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay, recounted his story as a beneficiary of the 4Ps MCCT as he gratefully rides his new motorboat.

“Malaking tulong ito sa aking pamilya para matustusan ko ang mga pangangailangan nila, lalo na sa pag aaral ng anak ko… natutugunan ang aming pangkabuhayan, gaya nito napabilanga ako sa isang asosasyon na kung saan kami ay nabigyan ng pumpboat na magagamit namin para madagdagan pa ang aming pangkabuhayan. (This is a big help to my family so I could provide their needs especially in the education of my children.. our livelihood needs are met such as this motorized boat which we acquired from being part of the association),” Hadjael said.

The DSWD provides cash aid to the IPs, especially those living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) through its Modified Conditional Cash Transfer Program. As of today, the program has a total of 95,653 active beneficiaries in Region 9.

DSWD’s Memorandum Circular No. 2 series of 2018 states that the cash transfer program is a sub-component of the 4Ps, which uses a modified approach in implementing the conditional cash transfer program for poor families, including homeless street families (HSF), IPs, and Families in Need of Special Protection.

Turn-Over Ceremony held at Pamansaan, Municipality of Mabuhay, Zamboanga Sibugay last February 23, 2021

Photos by: Abnier Muallam (Community Facilitator)

Though she is from a barrio called “Binuangan”, which literally translates to either fooled or taking something light-heartedly in the English language, Sheila Mae Dagondong, a 30-year old mother of 2 from Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte is very much serious in her advocacy to help her community in this trying times when the world is covered in fear by a pandemic.

The Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) has literally frozen life as we know it – establishments were closed, passenger vehicles were nowhere in the streets and highways, people stay indoors, the town was a bit of a ghost town, and the economy is at a brink of falling.

As a mother and a future educator, what concerns Sheila most is how it poses a threat to students’ education and development since they are on indefinite holiday break. She understands how important learning and education is as she, herself, also currently struggles to finish her studies for better future.

DOORS OF OPPORTUNITIES

All her life, Sheila has been a devoted follower of God. She serves in the Pentecostal church; she attends daily bible reading activities, youth camps, and other religious activities.

When she married her husband, Jeffrey, she has brought her entire family to serve the Lord as well. Together, they actively participate in church activities as the core foundation of their family relationship.

Their religious commitments and participations have enabled them to be part of their community even as a member of the Pure Bagobo tribe.

Since both of them have not finished their education, they had to strive to provide for their growing family. Jeffrey, as the head of the household, hits the road as a driver in order to bring food on the table.

In 2014, they became part of the country’s conditional cash transfer program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) under the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer program for Indigenous People (MCCT-IP).

Sheila claims that being a member of the program opened a lot of doors of opportunities for her and her family. She was able to attend trainings that developed her skills and boosted her confidence such as Parent Leader training, ECCD training, and skills training on cookery among others.

The learning that she has acquired form these trainings have helped her in her own home and in leading the group of 4Ps members in her barangay.

She and her husband have also received a scholarship grant as members of a tribal group who are given priority opportunity by the school where she is enrolled in.

Currently, she is taking up Bachelor of Science in Education major in English.

Now that her husband, her children, and her self all go to school to finish their studies, Sheila thinks that she is much closer to the fulfillment of their individual and family goals.

And while it is difficult to juggle studies, work, and family, Dagondong family is all up to the challenge knowing that the government is on their back.

OUR LABOR IS NOT VAIN IN THE SIGHT OF GOD

Sheila has always believed that to serve the Lord, one must serve His people.

During the Community Quarantine period, she volunteered to be of service in the barangay by assisting in the orderly implementation of SAP, packing and distribution of relief goods in their area, and community cleaning as a safety measure against the virus.

She also volunteered to help monitor those who are in quarantine. Her main task was to keep track of the body temperature and report unusual conditions of the Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs).

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Though she knows how dangerous the task is, not only to her but also to her family, she said that she must do her part in the name of bayanihan to heal from this crisis.

NEVER TOO EARLY TO EDUCATE

As a future educator, Sheila understands the importance of uninterrupted learning especially with children.

With COVID-19 lurking around, the government had ceased classes in all levels since mid-March. It is still uncertain when classes will resume or how classes will be back to normal. Nonetheless, Sheila believes that, with proper caution and safety protocols practiced, children may still continue learning amidst crisis.

Along other Parent Leaders and Pantawid members, they were able to gather a couple of children in their community and teach them moral values, art, and music while classes in their regular schools are suspended.

Sheila thinks that other than educational purposes, this is also one way to unload the stress amongst children brought about by the pandemic.

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And though she is not yet a professional teacher, it is never too early to teach young minds especially in the situation that we are in right now.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) highly salutes Jefferson Yamson Salazar, a 4Ps beneficiary’s son who recently marched as Cadet First Class in the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Masidlawin Class of 2020.

Among the 196 graduates, Salazar ranked 3^rd along with Cadet First Class Gemalyn Sugui (Valedictorian) and Cadet First Class Jade Villanueva (Salutatorian) being in the Top 3.

Jefferson is the fourth child of tricycle driver Jose and snack vendor Marites Salazar who are members of DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

In an interview, Marites says that her son has always been a good student. Jefferson usually does not bring notebook in class because according to him, he ensures that he understands the lectures and everything he learns is kept in his mind.

Marites recalls that even when they were struggling financially, she has always seen the big potential in Jefferson and was confident that he can achieve his goals despite the hardships in life.

“Hindi hadlang ang kahirapan kaya huwag mawalan ng pag-asa at mag-aral ng mabuti para makamit nila ang pangarap nila at magtagumpay, (Poverty is not a hindrance so don’t lose hope and study hard to achieve your dreams and succeed,)” Marites shares her message to her co-4Ps family beneficiaries.

As a young boy, Jefferson was a consistent honor student of his class. Because of poverty, he has seen his eldest sibling sacrificed her education for a job to help sustain their family. And so he made sure to keep an eye on his goal.

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In college, he took up Bachelor of Science in Physics at Western Mindanao State University then proceeded to pursue his studies in PMA and succeeded.

Despite not being able to attend the graduation rite last May 22 due to COVID-19 protocols, Jefferson’s family was very proud of his achievement.

Marites also expressed how thankful she is for the support that she has received from family, relatives, and the government.

“Naging malaking tulong yung natatanggap namin na cash assistance dahil nagkaroon ako ng karagdagang kapital sa pagtitinda. Ang programa ng gobyerno gaya ng 4Ps ay may layuning tumulong sa mga nangangailangan; nasa tao na kung papaano niya ito gamitin, (The cash assistance has been a great help especially as augmentation to our livelihood. Government programs such as the 4Ps aim to help families in need but it is up to the people to make something out of it,” says Marites.

Salazar family has been a beneficiary of the 4Ps since 2013. Jefferson’s older sister who was a monitored child of 4Ps will soon take her licensure board exam in December. To this date, only their youngest child who is in Grade 9 is monitored by the program. 

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Now, Salazar family celebrates the achievement of each of their family members. 

The eldest daughter, after working for several years to help support the family, is now back in school taking up BS Chemistry in WMSU;

The second child, who was also a scholar of DSWD’s Sulong Dunong, already graduated from a 2-year degree;

The third child supported herself in college by joining a school-funded organization and earning on the side from being a School Assistant;

The 4^th child (Jefferson) will soon join the Philippine Navy;

The 5^th child will soon graduate with a degree in Political Science;

The 6^th child will take her licensure board exam as a Pharmacist in December; and

The youngest one is currently in Grade 9, GT STEM.

The seams and stitches have brought changes in the lives of SLP associations. Recounted through the years of successful livelihood of sewing, the dreams and hopes of program participants are intertwined through collective efforts and desire to sustain the change in their community. These opportunities were made possible through the funded skills training to provide seed capital funds for Microenterprise development of the SLPAs.

Little did they know that apart from learning the skills from these dressmaking businesses can not only provide income for their members and support their family but can also turn into blessings to others.

Challenged by the unforeseen enemies brought by the threat of COVID-19 in the country, many of the people in the communities were affected by these dilemmas. The stringent social distancing measures due to declaration of enhanced community quarantine has affected the majority of the population not only in COVID stricken areas in Luzon but also in Zamboanga City which has recorded five confirmed to date.  These directives have led to massive panic buying and unavailability of stocks most especially in disinfectants, alcohols and masks. 

However, the formidable situation didn’t hinder the members of the Sustainable Livelihood Program Associations in Zamboanga City to stop their operation but instead they find this opportunity as blessing in disguise to render their services and help those who are in dire need of masks for protection. The scarcity of face masks led the associations to initiate its production so they can help their community protect themselves. The associations of STARLIGHT and Sistrera Dela Victoria SLPAs were able to initially produce more than 1,000 washable face masks. The situation has shed light to members of these SLPAs to utilize their skills of sewing in their livelihood. These initiatives were made possible using the materials from their own miscut cloths.  Only a few of their produced face masks were sold for only Php10-Php20 while some were given for free among their neighbors, family members including those frontliners in their vicinity.

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“Alegre kame cay ta puede kame ayuda na otro. Necesita man ayudahan kita, que rico man o pobre necesita man uyun kita para puede kita man fight con este cosa ta pasa ara y man share kita el blessing con aquelos bien necesita gayod ayuda. Ohala descansa ya este calamidad. Ohala hindi kita viola na cosa ta abla el govierno canaton, esta kita na casa para hindi este man calayat” Said Alejandra Dela Cruz, President of Sistrera Dela Victoria SLPA

(We are happy that we are able to help others, we need to help each other. Regardless of our social status, we need to go along with each other and face the challenges ahead of us. We also need to share what we have, to those who have little, or none at all. We hope this calamity will end soon and  hoping no one will violate what the government is requesting for us to do to in order to prevent the spread of the virus.)

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“Man  junto junto kita ayuda maga hente que necesita ayuda. Hace kita este contribucion na de aton ciudad.”  Salvacion G. Mabologtong, President of Ayala Starlight SLPA added.

(Let’s help people together who are in need. Let this be our contribution to our city)

Indeed during difficult times, the Bayanihan spirit will always prevail among Filipinos. For more than a year, the bags, dresses and other woven materials they have produced have represented their hopes and aspirations that are woven through their seamless determination towards sustainable change.

More SLPAs have followed the initiative in giving out masks to the public and barangay officials in the community.

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The Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) is a capability-buildingprogram of the DSWD for poor, vulnerable and marginalized households and communities to improve their socio-economic conditions through accessing and acquiring necessary assets to engage in and maintain thriving livelihoods.
###BernelySheilainedeLeon

Teampura is a coined term from the acronyms derived from the phrase: Together, Everyone Achieves More Positive Understanding and Responsive Action (TEAMPURA), a mantra that drives the passion of the DSWD Zamboanga Sibugay staff.

And just like the famous Japanese dish, Teampura is served hot and served as the primary dish in a meal of services that are being offered in Zamboanga Sibugay Province, as if it is the main course to a fine social service delivery.

The Municipality of Titay is a 2^nd class municipality in the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay with 30 barangays. Titay is known as an agricultural municipality wherein farming is the main source of livelihood and income for most of its residents.

Having a population of 49,673 the Listahanan has identified 4,354 poor families in the municipality which ranks Titay as the 14th poorest municipality out of 16 municipalities in the entire Zamboanga Sibugay Province.

With this, the DSWD implements the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the said municipality to reach out to the poor families with a total of 4,663 beneficiaries composed of 4,132 beneficiaries under the Regular Conditional Cash Transfer (RCCT) and 531 under the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for Indigenous Peoples (MCCT-IP).

And with such huge numbers to cater to, teampura is the key to be able to efficiently serve and bring social services on the table and plates of the vulnerable sectors.

The team was initially established as Tulosulo last 2017 as the KC NCDDP was implemented in the municipality of Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay. The team was composed of 22 team members: 4 of which are SLP PDO II, 4 KC NCDDP implementers and 14 Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program workers.

These workers from various programs and projects complement each other for an efficient delivery of services. Several activities are conducted with the coordination of field implementers such as the Municipal Inter-Agency Committee (MIAC) stakeholders meeting, Municipal Action Team (MAT) meeting implementation of Convergence Initiative, close review and implementation of Convergence Municipal Action Plan especially stakeholders commitments and household monitoring. The team members are guided and informed of the different plans of their respective programs/projects so as to ensure that all beneficiaries are provided with appropriate intervention.

The Local Government Unit of Titay is also very well-involved and is very supportive of the DSWD’s programs and activities through the provision of different resources, legislations, and mobilization of communities to improve the level of well-being of the partner beneficiaries.

The MAT, MIAC and CSO’s work hand-in-hand to create convergence as an initiative to answer the gaps felt by the communities/partner beneficiaries.

Teampura ensures that everyone is involved in all endeavors of the Department to guarantee that maximum success potential is achieved and all seeds planted will grow abundantly.

PLANT YOUR SAVINGS

With the introduction of the Bio-Intensive Gardening (BIG) in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as part of its mandate, sprout the Convergence Initiative (CI) 2017 dubbed as “DAGDAG KITA SA BAKURAN.”

It aims to assist 100% of our partner beneficiaries to have a secured source of nutrition and staple food on the table through the establishment of backyard and communal gardens thus decreasing the health issues and sustainable food security concerns in the area.

Apart from addressing the nutritional gaps of a household, the gardening activities also helped the beneficiaries augment their income. Teampura helped the beneficiaries strategically perform their best practices in the gardening by providing them technical assistance such as maintenance, logistical support, and bookkeeping among others. The team strengthened the implementation through sustained information dissemination, various orientations on organic gardening which led to the upgrade of the convergence initiative from Dagdag Kita sa Bakuran to “Save a Peso a Day” which was launched last November 19, 2017.

Its primary objective is to inculcate the practice of saving for when it is needed. From mere planting vegetables, the initiative has now flourished into potential savings.

SAVE A PESO A DAY Saves the Day

Prior to the implementation of the C.I., the provincial office in Zamboanga Sibugay constantly receives several financial concerns daily from the 4Ps beneficiaries that vary from needs for household expenses, educational expenses, emergency medical expenditures and etc.

SAVE A PESO A DAY is seen as the answer to the unexpected crises and financial difficulties which our partner beneficiaries may encounter in the future.

Evident in their individual savings account, the partner beneficiaries are now able to save money from their income in their backyard and communal garden. As aggressive as some of them are, some of the beneficiaries are able to use their additional income as a startup capital to put up a small business, they also invested in group lending where everybody benefits from the interest, others even used their money to venture into poultry and hog raising business.

The partner beneficiaries express that they are now less worried about unexpected crises or even about hospitalization concerns that go beyond the “zero billing” policy of accredited hospitals.

With this observable impact of the convergence initiative in the lives of the partner beneficiaries, the Team and MIAC came up with the next step of the Convergence Initiative in the 2^nd semester 2018, the level up the previous Convergence Initiative to “GUGMA SA NEGOSYO, IPON KO, CAPITAL KO.

This initiative was launched last December 6, 2018. It focuses on the strengthening of organized community groups for effective income generating activities. The C/MAT Team conducted several Organizational Development, Financial Management Session, and Simple Bookkeeping seminars for the beneficiaries that helped them in sustaining their income-generating activities, installation of simple accounting system, local accreditation, and construction of by-laws.

The TEAMPURA at school

Since Teampura is a collaboration of all stakeholders to address gaps and provide appropriate interventions, one gap has caught the attention of the team –the alarming increase in number of the children not attending school or what the 4Ps program call the “NAS children”.

This led the team to implement a project entitled “SPG – Estudyante, Pamilya at Gobyerno; Hawak kamay para sa Pagbabago”, an initiative launched last May 3, 2019.

It ensures 100% school enrollees among children beneficiaries and sustain their attendance to school. This is in support to the Bata: Balik Eskwela campaign of the national office to bring the Not Attending School (NAS) children back in school either through regular classes or in Alternative Learning System (ALS).

With this convergence initiative, almost 233 children went back to school even those children not monitored by the program.

During the launching of the project, all MIAC members were present and contributed a lot in the implementation of the initiative. Department heads from the LGU and the PNP Officers served as Resource Speakers for the parents, DepEd/ ALS Personnel served as resource speakers for the children, our partners in the Religious Sector provided Moral recovery sessions both for parents and children.

As a result, Titay-LGU committed to provide school supplies for the children –a commitment that is well-commended by the Department as this shows the strong convergence power of the team in the area which inspired a lot of other teams not only in the Zamboanga Sibugay Province but in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula as well.

Teampura and its special sauce

Just like a regular tempura, Teampura also needs sauce to make it more special and more delicious before it is served to the public. The special sauce of the Teampura is their external sources and support from partners.

Through the strong relationship that was built overtime, the team was able to seek help from its partners in the successful implementation of their initiatives. Because of the well-established coordination, the Local Government Unit in the municipality of Titay funded all of the initiatives presented by the team.

In a validation activity conducted by the PRAISE Committee, Teampura mentioned that they have never encountered rejections be it funds or mobilization support from the LGU.

As Local Chief Executive Hon. Leonardo Talania, Municipal Mayor, said in one of the local events “in any activity for the people wherein the team needs augmentation and assistance, just provide a project proposal and the LGU will gladly accommodate your requests such as sources for funds or logistical support for the activities.”

We already know from the stories mentioned in the first half of this article that the team has a strong support from other national government agencies, to wit: the Department of Education which was their partner during the “SPG“ launching as majority of the preparation of the event was lodged to the DepEd (ie Venue, Sound system, Stage and Emcee) with the amount of 64,000 for the food and school supplies.

In addition, the Municipal Agriculture office had also provided several variety seeds worth 100,000 and animal dispersal to our beneficiaries for their gardening project, the Dagdag Kita sa Bakuran.

The Municipal Administrator voluntarily donated 10,000 pesos cash to purchased seedlings for beneficiaries and pledged 10,000 pesos annual donation for the search for modelong gulayan.

The Barangay Local Government Unit of all barangays also showed support by their commitment in monitoring the Communal Gardens as well as the behaviors of the target children beneficiaries.

TEAMPURA –not a dish but an ingredient

It has been proven that the system and strategy of the team is effective in bring social welfare services closer to the reach of their target beneficiaries. But for the team members of Teampura, the success that they see now is not necessarily because of them. Rather the result of the effort of all people working together to achieve common goals, one step at a time.

For them, Teampura acts like an ingredient that pulls together all other major ingredients to come up with one very tasty offering to their clients. That’s the secret recipe to a successful dish.

As their name says, Together, Everyone Achieves More Positive Understanding and Responsive Action.

Imagine to have walked around 3 kilometers on a muddy ground from your home to the nearest hi-way doing your daily routine of either going to school, doing errands, attending to business or any form of livelihood, and many more. Sounds ordinary? But what if these 3 kilometers is an uphill- 3 hour climb? And a roadless one. These challenges are known to a lot of poor communities in the region that Kalahi-CIDSS serves.

But this is not the only case for a barangay in Kumalarang. Limamawan is an uphill barangay which has around 96 Subanen households. Located around 3 kilometers from the hi-way, at around 1,350 feet above sea level, the trail to and from the barangay entails a lot of adventure to the community and all the more to the people who visits the area for the provision of basic social services.

For one, they do not have road. The community created a path from which they can easily climb up and in going down. The terrain is too stiff and the path couldn’t sustain due to the excessive rainfall in the area that it washes away and turns into mud-like form. Once this turned muddy, it becomes too dangerous to pass, and it tends to become too slippery that if not careful, one could slip into the cliff.

“Mahirap ang buhay, lalo kapag magbababa ng benta, mga saging, kamote, utan. Lisod ang agianan , wala’y kuryente, solar lang source”, expressed by Marilou P. Tabiliran, BSPMC Chairperson of the said sub-project.

(Life is difficult, especially when we need to bring our produce downtown like banana, crops and vegetables. The road is hard to pass, no source of electricity, only by solar).

It is also equally dangerous on dry days, when one could be caught up in the middle of the scorching hit carrying heavy baggage, as the trail will tire you and dry you up.

But all these are their everyday grind. Bringing with them sacks of farm produce, most of the time it get wasted due to difficulty and inconvenience in transporting these downtown.

Most of them earn their living through farming, as the environment is suitable for growing crops, corn, and vegetables. Despite the meager income, through these they were able to feed their families and even send their kids to school.

However, they believe that they can do better with their harvest if the path is in good condition considering that they can’t make use of motorcycle or any form of vehicle in climbing.

During Cycle 3 Implementation of Kalahi-CIDSS, their proposed sub-project  “Concreting of Uphill Stairway” was prioritized. But the implementation was confronted with a lot of challenges particularly in the hauling of materials, the labor group, and the weather and terrain condition. All these had factored in the untimely completion of the sub-project. Just imagine the difficulty in bringing all these materials, sacks of cement, steelbar, metal roofing and wood at such height. But the community was so determined to finish the sub-project, to them it’s their most aspired project. So they tried to help in any possible way to get the job done with the help also of the Local Government.

By April 30, 2019, the Concreting of Uphill Stairway with 3 Interval Sheds was turned-over to the community. The sub-project which has a total cost of Php1,977,780.00 has a 1,950 concrete step with steel handgrip and interval sheds as resting station.       

 “Mas dali ang paglakaw , panahon sa ulan dili na danlug. Sa mga estudyante sayo na ang ilang pagnaog sa highschool. Sa mag-uma mapadali na ang pagagi kay dili na danlug sa panahon sa ulan”, shared by Marilou P. Tabiliran, BSPMC Chairperson of the said sub-project.

With the completion, the Limamawans is looking forward to a better returns of farm produce when transporting, safe passage for students, and easier access of basic social services come sunny or even rainy season.

Indeed for them, who have found shelter in the comfort of the mountain, climbing home is worth every step. Kalahi-CIDSS is a poverty reduction program that aims to improve the delivery of social services in poor communities. Local residents are empowered to engage in planning and implementation of community projects that would best address their needs.

Remember how as a kid in kindergarten, your mom or dad would bring you to class and wait outside the classroom until your class is done? Norberto Kuan feels exactly just like that all over again. But this time, his mom will no longer wait outside but rather sit with him inside his (or should we say ‘their’) classroom.

Melanie Kuan, 32, is the widowed mother of Norberto and will soon be his classmate in school. Both of them will enroll in the Alternative Learning System (ALS), a parallel learning system of the government that provides a practical option to the existing formal instruction.

Both Melanie and Norberto finished Grade 6 and hopefully make it to the ALS program. The other children of Melanie, Nurmilya (14 y/o) and Noemi (12 y/o) are in regular schooling at Katipunan National High School in Zamboanga del Norte in Grade 9 and Grade 7, respectively.

When asked about her decision to be back in school, Melanie said that she always had this dream of finishing a course and soon find a better job to provide the needs of her children.

Currently, Melanie’s source of income is by making roof materials made from nipa palm leaves and selling it for thatched houses. This is what keeps them surviving since her husband passed away in 2013.

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She manages her P100/day earning for their daily consumption and her children’s school needs. Melanie knows that her income is not enough and this

is felt by her children. Because of this, Melanie’s eldest child, Norberto, 16 years old, decided to find a job to help his family. The help he does however cost him his attendance to school.

Norberto started to commit absences in school and soon stopped schooling to focus on his job. He could not balance his time and energy from doing school works and driving tricycle to earn a living.

Meanwhile, as a member of the country’s conditional cash transfer program known as the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program, Melanie attends to its monthly meeting called the Family Development Session (FDS) where she learns about how to manage a family, financial literacy, and other government services among others. Her attendance to the FDS introduced her to the Alternative Learning System of the government.

Melanie saw this as an opportunity and decided to pursue her education, now, together with her son. She talked to Norberto about this education scheme and because Norberto also has a dream, it was not difficult for him to say yes.

According to Melanie, this is also advantageous for her because she will be able to oversee her son and his performance in school as how most parents would.

Nurmilya, Melanie’s second child, expressed her opinion about this decision, during a conversation with the Municipal Link.“Nalipay mi cay mu-eskwela na si Kuya balik ug si Mama. Aku sila tabangan para di sila maglisud mag-adjust. (We’re happy that my big brother and my mom decided to return to school. I will help them so that they will not find it difficult to adjust,)” Nurmilya said.

As a preparation, both Nurmilya and Noemi help their mother as she goes back to schooling by sharing what they have learned in the regular education system. Norberto, on the other hand, still drives tricycle during the day and reads his old notebooks at night to prepare his mind for the school days.

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Melanie thought that she can be her children’s inspiration to finish their studies as well.

Their school class will begin in June 03. Norberto, Nurmilya, and Noemi are monitored children beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the DSWD. Each of them receives 500 pesos as a support to the educational needs such as school supplies, projects, etc.

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The Bio-Intensive Gardening (BIG) has brought about many positive effects in the lives of the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program particularly in their daily consumption and nutritional needs. Apart from this, the BIG also has helped the beneficiaries augment their income by selling fruits and vegetables from their backyard and communal gardening.

The same is true with the beneficiaries of the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) Program of the 4Ps in Barangay Palinta, Municipality of Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay.

As an Indigenous People’s Group, (Subanen) whose primary source of income is on farming and agriculture, the community had no issues and difficulties starting a Bio-Intensive Gardening in the area. In fact, they were even elated to know that the program encourages its beneficiaries to have a backyard, container, and/or communal gardening.

In partnership with the LGU Municipal Agriculture’s Office, the MCCT beneficiaries were able to acquire seedlings to plant okra, talong, atsal, pipino, mais, kamatis, and paliya. They were able to harvest 50 kilos pipino but only 10 kilos was sold and the 40 kilos was divided and distributed to all beneficiaries for consumption.

The LGU saw that the beneficiaries are able to sustain gardening for their consumption and income augmentation. Due to this positive result, the LGU provided additional support to the beneficiaries to further enhance their skills in farming hence the Farmer Field School (FFS) was created.

The FFS serves as an avenue to provide the beneficiaries helpful strategies in cultivating their gardens. The sessions lasted for 5 months starting May until September of this year. 33 out of 54 beneficiaries were enrolled to these sessions and graduated last September 11, 2018.