Sadanga, Mountain Province—In this quiet countryside, the Tayaan family has humbly lived off the land as farmers in pursuit of a better future for their children. Together, Mr. Enrique and Mrs. Delia Tayaan has worked day in and day out planting rice, teaching their children the value of hardwork and perseverance early on in their lives.
With a keen eye on the education of their five children as life proved challenging at times even while they were part of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) since 2009, the couple had to go out of their ways to sustain their family’s needs.
Although not being able to finish grade school, Enrique, being the family’s breadwinner, aside from tending their rice crops, works part-time in construction jobs to help augment for their family’s expenses. While he lets their children—Gregorio, Narro, Leona, Sator, and Jenry, help him out in farm work, starting them early to imbibe the values of patience and perseverance in them—he sees to it that they also focus on their studies. Likewise, Delia, asserts her vision to give her family a better life through hard work. Despite also being unable to finish basic education, she more than makes up for it by always going the extra mile for her family. As she takes care of their children, she makes sure they are guided to the right direction in life.
This good example from the parents led the children to realize the importance of farming and education at length. After finishing school and passing the board as a Registered Criminologist, their eldest daughter Leona still lends a helping hand in their farm while supporting her other siblings go though College and High School.
According to the couple, taking part in Family Development Sessions (FDS) through the years has helped them better manage their finances in the face of different life situations. They recalled how they ended up taking up loans to help meet the financial demands of raising a family, especially when there were medical emergencies in the family. But later on, as their knowledge on financial matters grew through their regular attendance to the FDS, they were able to know ways on how to stand on their own feet to provide for their children and make ends meet.
In their active involvement in the Program, the couple took part in seminars and trainings on agriculture and were eventually able to put into practice their learnings in real-life. They were able to acquire farm equipment, including a hand tractor, among various farm tools, as well as establish small-scale chicken and hog-raising businesses. Their success was also evident in the active involvement of family members in income-generating activities.
“Iti kina anus ken kina gaget, isu iti mangted t barbaro nga namnama para iti masakbayan (With patience and hard work, even the simplest beginning can grow into a better tomorrow),” said Mrs. Delia, as she realizes that challenges in life even as 4Ps members, can nevertheless be meaningful experiences.//With reports and photos from Nino A. Fontejon, MOO Sadanga
