Testimony of Aluna A. Sapul

4Ps beneficiary

Level 3 SWDI Result

PULUPANDAN, Negros Occidental – “I am proud that we are one of those lucky households who benefited much from the 4Ps. Happy to say that we are now reaping the fruits of our labor. Our children are now enjoying their persistent hard work. One of our sons is now a police officer assigned in Janiuay, Iloilo, another one is a jail officer assigned in Bago City BJMP, the third one is a TESDA graduate and now applying abroad, and another is a Bachelor of Secondary Education graduate who is now reviewing for board exams. We have also one college level, three senior high schools, and one junior high school. Whatever status we have now, we owe this to the government, especially in the program,” said Aluna A. Sapul, a 4Ps beneficiary of Barangay Zone 4-A here.

However, before the household reached their good life now, they had been into so many struggles that led them to work hard day and night. To recall, the Sapul couple was blessed with nine children. They raised their children by selling fresh shrimp to nearby towns. Lately, her husband Sandy was hired as a welder in a beverage company. Yet, their income was not enough to feed their growing family.

But despite their shortage, they nurture their children with love and determination to send them to school since they don’t have any inheritance but only the learning and knowledge they obtain from studying.

One day, the family faced a big problem when Sandy lost his job after their company was closed. As a result, their oldest son was forced to stop his college and work as a houseboy.

In 2007, a blessing knocked on their door as they were chosen to relocate to the new relocation site in Pulupandan, one of the government’s pabahay initiatives. Their transfer opened another opportunity for the family when they were included in the 4Ps. Through the help of this program, the couple was able to send their nine children to school.

Fortunately, two of their sons were able to avail the Expanded Student’s Grants-in-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) scholarship of the Commission on Higher Education. This program helped them a lot, with free tuition, miscellaneous, and allowance, their eldest son was able to proceed to college taking a Bachelor of Mechanical Technology at Carlos Hilado Memorial State University in Bacolod City while the younger brother John Mark took the Bachelor of Science in Criminology in Bago City College. The family worked together hand in hand to satisfy their needs.

Moreover, blessings came unexpectedly when the third son was also chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) training. He was able to finish in TESDA vocational course on Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) 1 and worked in Cebu City to help his other siblings financially on their studies.

Today, their dreams become reality one after the other. Their children were able to bring honor to the family as they were able to finish their studies. All their hard work finally paid off. As they continue to be part of this program, the Sapul Family is committed to support the agency and its program even though they are about to graduate from the program this year. For Aluna, it is poverty that pushes one to strive towards success but with God, nothing is impossible. (Submitted by SWA Julie Jean Gaborno, Pulupandan MOO, Negros Occidental POO2