Despite financial constraints and challenges, Jeraldyn Bansale, a former monitored child from the Bajau indigenous community in Leyte, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degree.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shared Bansale’s story on Monday, Dec. 18, by highlighting the role of its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in supporting her education.

Bansale graduated from the Bato Institute of Science and Technology in Leyte province in 2022.

“Due to the poverty we are experiencing, I chose to strive and complete my education to help my parents,” she shared.

“Also, to assist my siblings in their needs, especially in their education,” she added.

Bansale credited the 4Ps program for playing a crucial role in her success, as her family qualified as a 4Ps beneficiary in 2014.

The cash grants provided her family with much-needed support for school requirements, transportation expenses, and other necessities. But, she emphasized that the program’s impact went beyond finances.

The Family Development Sessions (FDS) are a core component of the 4Ps program. It said that these sessions provide beneficiaries with valuable life skills training, including budgeting, saving, and the importance of education.

“My family learned a lot from the topics in the Family Development Sessions,” she said.

DSWD Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs and co-spokesperson Irene B. Dumlao emphasized that the 4Ps program goes beyond simply providing financial assistance, especially to Indigenous Peoples (IPs).

“The DSWD is providing all the needed assistance to help our countrymen from the indigenous peoples’ sector by providing necessary interventions that will enable them to become empowered and productive citizens, with the prime consideration of their culture and heritage,” Dumlao said.

Currently, as a proud college graduate, Bansale is determined to pay it forward.

She shared that her dream is “to secure a job for herself and pave the way for her siblings to follow in her footsteps.”

The 4Ps is the flagship program of the national government on poverty reduction and social development implemented by the DSWD.

It currently benefits around 4.4 million households with improved health, nutrition, and education by providing conditional financial assistance to economically challenged families.

DSWD added that as of Sep. 30, there are 116,521 IPs household-beneficiaries, with 87,124 households from Mindanao, 25,491 from Luzon, and 3,906 from Visayas.