Tricycle Driver’s Child Graduates from Civil Engineering Course Through DSWD’s ‘4Ps’ Program
A tricycle driver’s child finishes a course in Civil Engineering through the help of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Program.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) helped a lot of poor families in the country through the ‘4Ps’ program. Manuela Zornosa, 49, from Majayjay, Laguna, has proven this.
Zornosa’s family is just one among the millions benefiting from the DSWD’s program. If not for the said program that supported them until December 2023, they wouldn’t have managed their daily life because her husband’s income from driving a tricycle wasn’t enough.
“Super laki na ng nagbago sa buhay namin. ‘Yung umabot kami sa punto na nakakaraos na sa araw-araw, panatag na kaming mag-asawa,” Zornosa shared.
Zornosa will never forget the time when she and her husband struggled to support their five children. Even if they borrowed money from others, it was still insufficient. However, everything changed when their family became beneficiaries of the 4Ps in 2013.
“Madalas ay kulang pa sa amin. Kahit humiram kami ng pera sa iba, kulang at kulang pa rin,” she explained.
The family didn’t just receive financial support but also the opportunity to improve their way of living. Through the program, their family received cash grants to take care of their health, provide food, and send their underage children to school.
Zornosa used the cash grants to expand her skills by attending meat processing training with the help of DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) in 2017.
“Nagsimula ako ng simpleng negosyo mula sa meat processing training na aking dinaluhan bilang benepisyaryo ng 4Ps at ng SLP,” said Mrs. Zornosa.
In a previous post, DSWD chief Tulfo warns individuals accepting pawned 4Ps cash cards
The program allowed her to make and sell embutido and siomai, which eventually became successful, leading to increased earnings. The agency also obliges them to attend Family Development Sessions (FDS), teaching productivity and responsibility to meet their needs and expand their skills and knowledge.
Because of attending the FDS, she also became a parent leader, guiding 28 other beneficiaries in their area.
The family decided to leave the program when their eldest finished Civil Engineering. Zornosa’s four other children are currently studying.