When you are financially stable, you feel confident with your situation even if emergencies arise anytime. You don’t worry about where to get the payment for your next monthly bill, tuition fees for the education of your children, or even worry about the budget for the food to put on your table for the next meal – all because you are financially stable.

This is the case of the Macasucol family of Barangay Esperanza, Carmen, Surigao del Sur – they are now enjoying the financial breakthroughs with the help of every member of the family. But prior to achieving financial stability, the family was in a very unstable situation when it comes to their financial status. This was prior to their membership to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

PRODUCT OF POOR FAMILIES

The Macasucol family is composed of Carmen, 47 years old, who works as farmer and owns a small sari-sari store and Ruel, 49 years old who work as skilled construction worker in a private company in the town of Madrid, Surigao del Sur. They are blessed with 4 sons, namely; Jeffrey, Bryan, Kevin Jan, and Chris.

Both parents were not able to finish high school due to financial constraints. Indeed, life is not easy for the family specially that they are only dependent on the family head’s income who earned Php200-300 daily. The income could not suffice the needs of the family members considering the household size and the employment status of the couple. To augment for the family’s income, Carmen sells ice candy and hot cakes at the school canteen just to sustain the needs of their children while they were studying.

GREATEST CHALLENGE

Both parents believe that education is the only legacy they can leave to their sons. That is why they did everything they could to send their children to school even amidst their financial status. Their eldest son, Jeffrey was able to finish high school and pursue college, however, after a year, his girlfriend who is also a student got pregnant. This is the greatest challenge of the family since they had to support the needs of Jeffrey as well as with his common-law-wife as they lived together in one apartment.

Along with this challenge, came blessing from above. In 2011, the family were selected as potential 4Ps beneficiary. A program that provides financial grants for education to families with children ages 0-15 years old (as per program guidelines during that time). With this, the 3 sons of the Macasucol family were eligible as monitored children for the program.

Bisan sa mga hagit na among naagian, gitubag sa Ginoo ang among mga panginahanglan. Aduna pud panalangin nga niabot sa dihang kami nahimong kabahin sa 4ps. Dako kaau ni nga abag alang sa pag-eskwela sa akong mga anak labi na nga naglisod gyud mi atong panahona. (Despite the challenges that we’ve been through, God answered our prayers.  We were even blessed when we became 4Ps beneficiary. This is a great help to my children’s education specially that during that time we were not financially stable and have difficulties in providing our daily needs), Carmen said.

GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION

Bryan, Kevin Jan and Chris qualified under the program. The intervention they received from the government is timely as this helps them augment their needs especially at school. The siblings took advantage of the program by showing their determination to finish their studies for they saw the difficulties their parents experienced.

As a result, Bryan- the second child of the family- graduated in Bachelor of Science in Social Work at Marawi State University-Main Campus in 2019. Right after he passed the licensure examination for Social Work, he was then employed in DSWD Field Office Caraga as Municipal Link Officer under 4ps as MOA workers, but after 2 years, he was promoted to Contractual that earned him a higher salary.

The eldest son, Jeffrey, together with his partner also graduated in Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) at Surigao del Sur State University-Cantilan. He is currently employed as electrician in a private company in Cebu City, while his partner is working as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Taiwan.  Although they are now separated but they both support their child financially.

On the other hand, Carmen who now have a sari-sari store, also engaged in crop farming making use of their 2 ½ hectare land where they harvest 90 sacks of rice and earn approximately Php70,000.00 per cropping. The household also bought a ¼ hectare land where they planted 30 coconut trees and harvest four times a year with an approximate yield of Php3,000.00.

Aside from that, the family is a recipient of various programs from the government. To name a few, the family is a member of SLP SKA Association Microenterprise, volunteer for the KC-NDDP where their barangay is a recipient of different community projects. They are also recipients of the SLP PAMANA project where they enjoy Pre and Post-harvest facilities.

FAMILY’S STRENGTH

The family asserted individual strengths to work together to sustain and improve their economic condition. They magnify more of their strengths rather than focusing on scarcity and their shortcomings. This led the family to voluntarily waive their rights to the program as they can already stand on their own financially. Their status is totally different 10 years ago where the family is only dependent on a meager income, but now, 4 of the family members are earning which could now address their daily needs. Overall, the family’s income can suffice their needs as well as the education needs of Kevin Jan who is currently taking up Criminology and Chris who is now in Grade 9.

As part of the preparation for their future, the family availed Life and health Insurance from Social Security System (SSS) and Philhealth. In times of disaster, the family were oriented about disaster preparedness that makes them resilient in times of emergencies.

The Macasucol family is a living testimony that success can be achieved if everyone is doing their part. No matter what circumstances and how much difficult life is, as long as every member is determined, getting out from poverty is possible. Adding to the success was the intervention given by the government which they took advantage of.

For now, the family is very much visible in the community, extending their help whenever needed, especially now with the pandemic. They are busy participating in barangay activities, and they promise to continue helping others, especially their co-Pantawid beneficiaries who are still working on improving their status. ###(Social Marketing Section/DSWD Field Office Caraga)