In the cool blue mornings of Sitio Kalapukan, Brgy. San Vicente, Madrid, Surigao del Sur, the day begins with the smell of wet earth and the soft thud of barefoot feet on muddy paths. Those same trails led children to school — a long walk under a wide sky — and led Joan Uriarte to the small, persistent faith she carried in her chest. Poverty wasn’t just a word for her family; it was a daily rhythm: borrowed rice, sardines saved for “special” days, and uniforms and shoes that had already lived someone else’s life.
Joan is the third of five children. Her father drove a tractor. Her mother split her days between farm work and taking care of the house. Home meant constant choices: which expense could wait, which hope could not. There were seasons when Joan stayed with other families and scrubbed floors in exchange for food — anything to lift one mouth off the table at night. Loneliness could have hollowed her. Instead, it shaped a quiet, persevering resolve.
A Small Help That Opened a World
When their family joined the 4Ps, the help was small and steady, allowances for school, partial payments for rice debt, groceries, contributions for school. But the real change came from the Family Development Sessions. Joan listened when her mother came home and relayed the lessons, and a new belief took root in her: “Ang edukasyon ang among pinakadako ug labing lig-on nga puhunan.” — Education is our greatest and strongest investment.
That belief became Joan’s lifeline.
School, Sacrifice, and Determination
From Grade 7 through Grade 12 Joan was a working student: studying by night, helping in the fields by day. She woke up early, walked long, and often went to class without lunch money. Still she was a constant on the honor roll, a voice in journalism, a competitor in math and science, and a student leader who carried other students’ hopes with as much care as her own.
College pushed her farther than she’d ever been willing to go alone. She enrolled in Civil Engineering at Mindanao State University — Marawi, determined and lean on resources but rich in will. The pandemic stretched her patience: the first two years were online. In a place where the signal was a rumor, Joan hiked to a small shelter beside the river, rested her phone on her knees, and attended classes under shaky bars of connection. Rain could cut the lecture mid-sentence; her notebook became both refuge and plan.
A Scholarship, a Savings Jar, a Promise
When she became a DOST scholar, something shifted from survival to possibility. She stopped working just to get by and finally focused on learning. Each allowance she received was partly spent and partly saved — quietly, purposefully — for a “board exam fund.” She set a goal: graduate Cum Laude. Not for the title alone, but because every honor brought practical help: discounts at review centers, a smaller barrier to the licensure she dreamed of passing.
She chipped away at the dream, step by patient step.
A Family’s Tears, a Community’s Joy
When Joan walked across the stage, cap and gown catching light, her family cried not only from pride but from the memory of every hungry night, every borrowed cup of rice, every calloused hand. Their tears were years condensed into that single moment.
In May 2025, Joan passed the Civil Engineering Licensure Examination. The news rolled through Sitio Kalapukan like celebration — tarpaulins up on the street, neighbors smiling like they had won, too. For the first time, Joan felt the world was larger than the boundaries of her childhood: “Naa diay koy lugar sa dakong kalibutan.” — There is a place for me in the big world.
Today she works as an Applications Engineer at Xstructures Engineering Consultants in Davao City — proof not of luck, but of endurance and of opportunities met by preparation.
Three Promises She Carries
Joan’s success is not an ending but a responsibility. She carries three quiet promises:
To her parents and siblings: She wants rest for their hands and a future where her brothers and sisters finish their schooling without fear. Success, to Joan, is not complete unless it lifts the whole family.
To Sitio Kalapukan: She dreams of building safer roads, water systems that don’t fail in the rains, and resilient structures so children who walk those same muddy trails can reach school easier.
To the 4Ps program and to other youth: She wants to be a living testament that education plus opportunity can rewrite a life.
Her message is simple and fierce: “Ayaw kahadlok sa kalisod. Ayaw undangi ang imong damgo. Ang 4Ps ug edukasyon mao ang imong tiket padulong sa kahayag.” — Don’t be afraid of hardship. Don’t stop dreaming. 4Ps and education are your ticket to the light.
Not Finished — Just Getting Started
Joan speaks humbly: she does not claim to be finished or fully successful. She says, “Dili ko ingnon nga fully successful nako. Pero mas layo na ko sa lugar nga akong gigikanan. Ang kalisod dili babag—usa kini ka hagit nga pwede nimong pildihon.” — I won’t say I’m fully successful, but I am farther from where I came from. Hardship is not a barrier — it is a challenge you can overcome.
From a girl who once thought her sitio was the whole world, Joan now walks through cities she had only seen in pictures. Her story is still being written, but already it stands as proof that poverty does not have the final word.
She leaves every young dreamer with this clear, steady promise: If I can make it here… YOU CAN TOO.
