“Hindi ko makakalimutan ‘yung nakapagpaanak ako ng baby sa tricycle… wala na kaming choice noong oras na ‘yun kaya talagang sinalo ko ang bata… salamat sa Diyos at malusog siya hanggang sa paglaki niya ngayon,” (I will never forget the time that I facilitated a delivery of a baby in a tricycle… we had no choice at that time thus I determinately catch the baby… thank God that he is healthy until he grew up now), shared by Amalia Alcantara, 36 years old from Quezon City.

As a Pantawid Pamilya Parent Leader in their community since 2012, Amalia never thought that she will engage herself in such public service in order to help her fellow beneficiaries of the program.

“Lagi na akong kasama ng mga kapwa ko beneficiary tuwing may emergency sila sa akin sila nagpapatulong… ako naman, masarap sa pakiramdam ko ang makatulong… dati ay taong bahay lang ako pero ngayon may silbi na ako sa komunidad namin,”(I’m always with my fellow beneficiaries since whenever they are in emergency situations, they are always asking for my help… for me, it feels good to help… before, I’m just always at home and now, I have my worth in our community) she added.

Together with the income of his husband Orlando, 40 years old and a tricycle driver, Amalia recognizes that the cash grants from Pantawid Pamilya program significantly helps in the studies of her children.

‘Yung nangyari sa akin na hindi ako nakatapos ng pag-aaral, ayaw ko yung iparanas sa mga anak ko. Kaya’t malaki ang pasasalamat ko sa tulong ng Pantawid Pamilya ay maayos na nakakapasok sa paaralan ang aking mga anak,”(What happened to me that I did not finish my study, I don’t want my children to experience the same thing. That is why I’m very grateful that because of the help of Pantawid Pamilya, my children are now religiously going to school) Amanda emphasized.

Also, because of the Family Development Sessions (FDS) she has attended, Amanda proudly shared that she is now equipped with knowledges on women’s and children’s rights together with other learnings on how to properly manage a family.

Alcantara family is among the 230, 273 Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in Metro Manila as of March 3, 2016 who are receiving their respective cash grants based on their compliance to the set conditionalities under the program. ###