Getting a college degree is no easy task, more so if your household lies in the poverty threshold where the income is not enough to suffice your needs. Perhaps the famous quote, “Poverty is not a hindrance to success,” seems too impossible to believe.

Nonetheless, in the recently concluded commencement exercises this academic year, it rained Latin honors for the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) households in Caraga region.

4Ps, as a national poverty reduction program of the Philippines government, continues to improve the well-being of the 4.4 million beneficiaries, thus focusing the major lens in education and health of the households.

“Part pod ang programa sa iyang mga achievement nga nadawat kay pinaagi niana nakatabang sa pagskwela ug nakab-ot jud ang iyang pangandoy dako kaayo ug pasalamat sa programa (The program is part of her achievement because it helped her schooling and achieving her ambitions in life, we are truly grateful),” Grace A. Pucot, parent of a Magna Cum Laude, shared in a Facebook comment.

4Ps intensifies its drive on sending the children to school and monitoring the family’s health and nutrition to have long-term outcome of success. These will help the household break the cycle of poverty that has been a problem for Filipino families for generations.

More than having Latin honors, it is the hope of the graduates to be a beacon of inspiration to all aspiring students, struggling to get the diploma.

As shared by Rielle Jay S. Tanaman, “Never lose sight of who you want to become and never give up on realizing your goals. Do not allow poverty to prevent you from fulfilling your dreams. Always remember that you are a gem and just like others, you, too, will succeed one day.”

Tanaman hails from Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte and graduated with a Bachelor of Secondary Education degree as Magna Cum Laude in Father Saturnino Urios University (FSUU).

In Caraga, more or less 190,000 active households are registered in the Program where 98.11% of them are compliant in Education, 99.33% in Health, and 98.27% in Family Development Session (FDS) – conditionalities which need to be complied by the beneficiaries. ###(Social Marketing Section/DSWD Field Office Caraga)###(Social Marketing Section/DSWD Field Office Caraga)