“Bilang mga magsasaka, hindi namin kayang bayaran ang tuition ng pangalawa naming anak. Nasasaktan ako kapag nakikita ko siyang umiiyak dahil wala kaming pera upang suportahan ang kaniyang pag-aaral. Gayunpaman, ipinaliwanag ko sa kaniya na dahil sa hirap ng buhay ay imposible ang pangarap niya pero nakikita ko ang kaniyang pagpupursige (As farmers, we cannot afford the tuition of our second child. I am disheartened seeing her cry because we do not have money to support her studies. However, I explained that due to life’s difficulty, her dreams are unreachable but I can see her perseverance),” Josephine Abellara Cabrera shared while reminiscing the trying times about putting her second child, Jeziane Aya (second from the left) through school. The Cabrera Family is one of the exiting household beneficiaries of Bacnotan, La Union.
“Naging mahirap para sa akin at sa aking asawang si Efren na itaguyod ang apat naming anak lalo na noong sila ay tumuntong na sa kolehiyo. Hindi na namin alam kung kakayanin pa ba namin silang i-enroll sa susunod na semester sa pamamagitan ng pagsasaka. Malaki ang aking pasasalamat nang nakakuha ang panganay kong anak na si Jenica Mae ng scholarship mula sa butihing pari (My husband Efren and I were challenged to support our four children especially when they entered college. We were uncertain if we have the means to enroll them for the next semester through our earnings from farming alone. I feel so grateful when my eldest daughter, Jenica Mae got a scholarship from our parish priest),” Josephine shared.
Ray of light in the darkness
“Noong 2012, mangiyak-iyak si Aya dahil ayaw niyang mapag-iwanan ng kaniyang mga kaibigan at kaklase. Bilang isang ina, masakit ito para sa akin dahil hangad ko ring matupad ang kaniyang mga pangarap (In 2012, Aya was teary-eyed because she did not want to be left behind by her friends and schoolmates. As a mother, this hurt me because I also wish that her dreams will come true),” Josephine added. To continue sending Aya to college, Josephine sought help from their relatives for two years.
She then vividly recalled that rainy afternoon in 2014, she just came in from the field barefoot with her entire body covered in mud, she got the phone call informing her that Aya was chosen as a grantee of the Expanded Students Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA). That time, Aya was on her third year taking up Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University – Mid La Union Campus. Josephine was ecstatic – this was the best news she had ever received. This was Aya’s gateway in achieving her dream of becoming a teacher. Her prayers for Aya were finally granted.
Gloom Gone, Gleam Begun
Aya did not waste any time after graduation, driven by her passion to achieve her dream profession, she took the Licensure Examination for Teachers. Her sacrifices paid off upon knowing that she successfully passed the board examination on her first take. Her mother’s tears of joy were the sweetest reward of all.
Josephine cannot be prouder when Aya chose to join the DSWD Field Office 1 workforce as KC-NCDDP Administrative Assistant in October 2017 and was promoted as 4Ps Social Welfare Assistant in January 2021. Aya is now providing interventions to 4Ps children beneficiaries in Binmaley, Pangasinan while inspiring them to be determined in achieving their ambitions by pursuing their studies and giving utmost value for education.
According to Aya, “I work at DSWD because I am ambitious. My ambition is to help the needy because I was once in their shoes. Poverty cannot hinder success. Poverty was my mother’s greatest worry but it was my greatest motivation to fight my way to success.” (by: Jaesem Ryan A. Gaces / Information Officer)
