NATONIN, Mountan Province – “Idi pinanawan dakami ni baket ko ket nabati kanyak dagiti anak mi nga uubing karkaru jay inaudi ta manu bulan a baby paylang, permi ti rigat ko ta awan mangkita kanyada ket kasapulak a rumwar ta mapanak makipurdiya tapnu ada pangalaan iti maigatang iti makan (When my wife left us, our children were left under my care, especially our last child who was then still an infant. It was very difficult for me because there is no one to watch over my children while I go out and work for us to have something to eat)”, recounts Jimmy Alinchawang, 50 years old and a single father of three sons and one daughter.
This is an unfolding story of Jimmy, a father who is raising three sons and one daughter. Jimmy’s family is a beneficiary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
Family Sacrifice
As a Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary, Jimmy’s children are required to go to school as a condition for them to continue receiving their grant. However, since no one will look after the children, Jimmy’s eldest child had to stop going to school.
“Ada ti maysa aldaw a madama iti ubrak ket agtawtawag ni manang ko nga mang-ibga nga nasinit ti iman dyay buridek ko, iti kasdyay nga damag nagdadarasak nga nagawid. Gapo iti daytoy a pasamak nagsarsardeng piman dagidyay anak ko iti tig maysa tawen ti skwela da tapnu ada ti mangbantay idyay buridek me (One day while I was at work my sister called me informing that my last child’s hand was burnt, worried, I immediately went home. Because of the incident, his children had to stop going to school to take care of their sibling).” Jimmy shared.
When his children stopped going to school, the household was on the verge of being removed from the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps) for noncompliance. Fortunately, with the assistance and guidance from the members of the Municipal Action Team (MAT) the situation was remedied. Jimmy availed financial assistance and was referred to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Trabahong Langsangan.
The members of the MAT serve as front liners in delivering the programs and services of the Department for the poor, including the 4Ps, SLP, and Kalahi-CIDSS-NCDDP among others within their respective municipality.
Dedication and Hard Work
In 2013, Jimmy availed a 6-month employment through the Trabahong Langsangan, a joint project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) implemented under the Employment Facilitation Track of SLP.