Sta. Cruz, Davao Del Sur – “Presently, I have nothing more to wish for but a better life for my grandchildren,” shared Pantawid Pamilya Parent leader Roselyn Gocela of Barangay Zone 1 here.
At 65, Gocela has only herself and her husband to mind. However, the kind of obligation tossed her path will not allow her such luxury for now.
She has nine children who now have their own families but five grandchildren were left to her care when the family of a daughter was broken.
“I face all the challenges and trials just to be able to feed my grandchildren. They are my family, my happiness and strength.”
Her Husband is a fisherman. Gocela takes extra work just to sustain her grandchildren’s needs.
“When my husband arrives from fishing, I peddle his catch so I can buy rice for our dinner.”
Grateful to CCT
It was in early 2012 when Gocela’s family became qualified to be a beneficiary of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Her three grandchildren qualified as program recipients.
“I am so happy to be included in this program. With this assistance, I can support their education and provide other basic needs.”
Gocela has been serving as Pantawid Pamilya Parent Leader for three years now.
“I really promised to help my community. I will never waste the opportunity of being a beneficiary as well as being a Parent Leader to them.”
For others
“With my advance years, I know that I still have a mission to fulfill and that is to love and protect my grandchildren until I die. They are the ones who give me joy every day.”
The FDS or Family Development Session, one of the co-responsibilities of beneficiaries in the Pantawid Pamilya program, is a monthly gathering of parent grantees where they are taught life skills to help strengthen family relationships and empower them to improve their living condition.
“Pantawid Pamilya does not only support me economically but it made us realize our responsibilities toward our family.”
Today, Gocela is an embodiment of a selfless and fulfilled grandmother. Her resiliency, generosity and industry enabled her achieve her aspirations in the face of adversity.
Town gains
The Municipality of Sta. Cruz has 4,483 beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
Barangay Captain Ricky Taylaran of Zone 1 expressed his gratefulness to Pantawid Pamilya. ”I will always support this program because in my last two terms as Barangay Captain, I saw how it helped my constituents focus importance on education and health.”
“Here in Sta. Cruz, we can create positive changes given the opportunities,” Taylaran declared.
For Municipal Midwife Analee A. Cervantes, Pantawid helped decrease cases of malnutrition. “Because of the conditionality of regular visit to health center, we were able to educate families on the importance of caring for their health especially their children’s.”
Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program that invests in the health and education of children aged 0-18. It utilizes the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme that provides cash grants to poor households on the condition that the children attend school, get preventive check-ups and that parent/s or guardian attends the monthly FDS.
To date Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program in Davao Region has 207,360 household beneficiaries in all 4 provinces, 6 cities and 43 municipalities. DSWD