Aguinaldo, Ifugao—Even through the hardships of life, the Bilowan family, a beneficiary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Field Office – Cordillera Administrative Region’s (DSWD FO CAR) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), makes it a point to focus on education, especially for the future of their children.
With their home tucked away in Barangay Chalalo, one of the remotest areas in the municipality, the Bilowan family faced the challenges of living distant and having limited access to school and social services. Despite this, Berto and Fe guided their five children through examples of dedication and hard work as farmers in their field, teaching them valuable life lessons that they would carry through as they grew older. A mix of success and sacrifices marked the years of toil in their farm, resulting in a harvest of better opportunities and brighter future for their family.
In 2012, they started their journey in the Program and learned the value of education and the importance of proper handling of their finances with their diligent participation in Family Development Sessions. According to Berto, the 4Ps cash grants helped them through hard times, especially when the harvest of their corn and rice would be negatively affected by dry spells in the locality.
Likewise, Fe said their faith in God gave them something to lean on in those trying times. “Our vision is to put God at the center of the family,” she said. “We believe that when God’s words are planted in everyone’s life, everything will follow.”
To supplement their income from farming, Fe took to the local market to sell vegetables at the public markets in Ubao and Santa Maria. But together as a family, they were able to hurdle obstacles in raising their family well and meeting their daily needs, with the children also helping out in any way that they can. They were able to support the schooling of the children all throughout.
Meanwhile, beyond being one of the aspects being monitored by the program, the education of the Bilowan siblings were deemed a success as they pursued this with passion and perseverance. However, at first, their eldest son Genesis paused his schooling to let his other siblings finish their education. He was able to pursue this once again when the younger children were able to secure their diplomas in high school.
With the shared dream among their children to reach success through education, their eldest daughter Eva was the first one to graduate and is presently a uniformed personnel. Meanwhile, siblings Christian, Preysie and Gracy are already studying in College and making their family proud.
With this, the Bilowan family proves that with dedication and hardwork as 4Ps beneficiaries, poverty is no barrier to success. #DSWD Field Office Cordillera Administrative Region, Social Marketing Unit, Christian Robert Sandoval