Around 150 parent leaders from Payatas participated in a dialogue with Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to talk about how their lives were changed by the volunteerism taught by the program.

These parent leaders are partner-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program who were elected to lead a number of household beneficiaries in a purok or barangay. They serve as organizers of partner-beneficiaries in the community whenever there are program-related meetings and assemblies such as the Family Development Sessions (FDS). FDS are monthly sessions where all partner-beneficiaries attend to learn about topics such as husband and wife relationship, home and financial management, and disaster risk management.

The parent leaders willingly take the extra mile to help implement the program without expecting anything in return.

Richard Casta, the only male parent leader in the assembly, recounted how becoming a parent leader changed his perception of community involvement. “Dati, wala akong pakialam sa barangay o kahit sa gobyerno. Hindi ko pinapahalagahan ang mga pagkakataon na makakatulong ako (Before, I did not care about our barangay or the government. I did not give importance to opportunities wherein I could be of help),” the 44-year-old parent leader said.

He also recalled how the values formation of FDS turned him from being an alcoholic into a respected vice president of their community.

“Pangarap ko dati ang makatapos kahit ng high school ang mga anak ko. Ngayon, kasama na sila palagi sa top sa klase kaya kampante ako na mapapatapos ko sila (It was my dream for my children to finish high school. Now, they consistently belong to the top of the class so I am confident that I will be able to make them finish their studies),” he added.

Instilled values

Cherry Cayugid, another parent leader, shared how being of service to her fellow beneficiaries taught her and her children the importance of extending a helping hand to others. Since being a parent leader took much of her time as a mother, her children once told her that they will never take Social Work as a course when they graduate high school.

The change happened one day when her child who was graduating high school asked her to look for a college where there was a course on Social Work.

“Nang tumagal na kami sa programa, minsan sila pa ang umaasikaso kapag may kasamahan akong benepisyaryo na nagpupunta sa bahay kapag wala ako. ’Yun po ang pagbabagong naibigay ng programa, hindi lang sa akin kun’di sa mga anak ko na rin (After some time with the program, my children would sometimes handle concerns of my fellow beneficiaries when I am not around. That is the change brought by the program, not only to me but to my children as well),” the proud mother said.

Selfless

Majority of the parent leaders proudly shared how they willingly contribute to their community in Payatas.

From a simple sharing of knowledge on segregating that they learned from FDS, to encouraging their fellow beneficiaries to use their cash grants wisely – the selfless contributions of parent leaders to their community are worth emulating, said DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman.

“Kayong aming mga parent leaders ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit patuloy ang pagbabago sa buhay ng mga kapwa ninyo benepisyaryo. Ang inyong pagsasakripisyo ay tunay na kahanga-hanga dahil hindi lamang kayo at ang inyong pamilya ang nababago kung hindi ay maging ang inyong komunidad (You, our parent leaders, are among the reasons why the changes on the lives of your fellow beneficiaries continue to happen. Your sacrifice is truly admirable because it brings change not only to you and your family but to your community as well),” Secretary Soliman said.

Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program that invests in the health and education of poor households primarily those with children aged 0-18. It provides cash grants to partner-beneficiaries who comply with the set conditionalities in health and education, including monthly attendance to FDS.

A total of 149,936 parent leaders are helping implement the program nationwide. As of February 25, Pantawid Pamilya has been serving 4,444,365 households in all regions.