Even before the first ray of the sun peeks into the sky, some of the elementary students from the farthest “sitios”  in the sleepy  town of Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya start their journey towards Papaya Elementary  School where their hunger for knowledge is satisfied, their  thirst for  friendship is quenched and  their dreams of a bright future are weaved.

 But with almost two hours of walking down the hilly road before reaching their school, the students’  hunger for knowledge is overturned with hunger for food, their thirst for friendship is substituted with thirst for water and their dreams of a bright future now  seems to be daunting.

The struggle does not end there. The situation is exacerbated by the economic condition of these students. They are  beneficiaries  of the Pantawid  Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Thus, they belong to the poor and vulnerable sector of the society. If you were one of these young students, would you succumb to the difficulty that life brings you, hence, quit school   or will you hold on?

For the student-beneficiaries, the choice seems to be a no-brainer. The former choice offers a scape to the arduous task of going to and from   school with their now calloused feet while the latter choice thrusts them to more years of sacrifices and of foregoing longer playtime and recreational activities.

“ Pagdating nila sa room, natutulog sila kasi napagod sila sa halos 2 oras na pglalakad. Hinahayaan ko na lang silang matulog kasi alam kong pagod sila at gutom. Pagdating ng tanghalian, uuwi na sila kasi wala na silang pagkain kasi kinain na nila sa daan,” Rosalia D. Licdom, Grade 5 and 6 Teacher, described how the student-beneficiaries conduct  themselves  in school. Therefore, absenteeism is a major problem for Mrs. Licdom; ergo, the student-beneficiaries cannot comply with one of the conditionalities of the Pantawid Pamilya program which is the compliance with the 85% attendance in school.

It is in this light that The Aruga at Kalinga sa mga Bata sa Barangay or Foster Care in the Barangay was born.

This project was introduced, among others, to address absenteeism of the student-beneficiaries so that they will stay in the program. It is a relatively new program. It found its way in Brgy. Papaya, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya where the first ever Aruga at Kalinga  project  in the Philippines was established.

The Aruga at Kalinga project is a strategy to promote the implementation of foster care services in a Barangay with a pool of at least 10 foster parents to provide a planned substitute parental care to abandoned, neglected and other children in need of temporary parental care. These children may either come from the centers and institutions or referred/rescued from the community/street.

This project shall be managed by DSWD Field Office within six months transition period and will be replicated by interested Local Government Units, Non-Government Organizations or Faith-Based Organization.

The same rationale of the project was applied to the student-beneficiaries. In this project, they will be under the care of Foster Parents who live within the school zone. This way, attendance in school will no longer be the perennial problem of the student-beneficiaries as well as of the teachers. Likewise, the set-up is encouraging for them because their Foster Parents are relatives or nearest kin. Such is the case of Mrs. Licdom who is a Foster Parent to a 7-year old and 12-year old student-beneficiaries and who are her relatives but   live   in one of the farthest “sitio” in Kasibu.

Furthermore, student-beneficiaries who are relatives by consanguinity   are placed in one foster family, hence, they will be at least comfortable with their new home environment. On weekends, they go home to their respective families.

The community in Barangay Papaya also deserves kudos to the realization of this project. The barangay officials established a Committee on Education, headed by a Barangay Kagawad,  that monitors the performance of student-beneficiaries in school as well as their behaviour in the community.

Now, student-beneficiaries enjoy a goodnight sleep. Gone were the nights where their last thoughts were the long trek come morning; gone were the days when their teachers would rouse them from sleep in the classroom; and gone were the days when they have to cut classes in the afternoon and go home because of empty stomachs for they have eaten their lunch while walking to school.

At last, their hunger for knowledge is revived, their thirst for friendship is renewed and their dreams of a bright future intensified!

As a result of this endeavour, an offshoot of the Aruga at Kalinga project was initiated recently by DSWD FO 02  to cover student-beneficiaries who are enrolled in Malabing National High School in Barangay Wangal, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya which is a 3-hour walk from the residence of the students. This is the reason why Barangay Papaya sets a high record of out-of-school youths. Like the student-beneficiaries of Papaya Elementary School, the long walk to school   hinders the drive of the students to persevere in school.

In addition, the money they get from doing farming work and other small-time job in their neighbouring community is not only tempting but is more practical than staying in school. With the compensation they receive, they can afford little luxuries.

Hence, the Field Office deemed it best to extend the program to cater to high school students considering that the age coverage under Pantawid Pamilya program is extended up to 18 years old. It is hoped that more Foster Parents will be willing to be licensed as such and take on the responsibility not because they are driven by monetary rewards but because their desire to help far outweighs the glitter of money.

The noble objective of DSWD to break the inter-generational cycle of poverty through education   and by fostering change in the behaviour among parents through this project, together  with other programs of the  department, is a remarkable feat in the field of public service, a best practice worth emulating by LGUs, NGOs and other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

DSWD Field Office 02 continuously   advocates for the licensing of more Foster Parents who are interested in providing substitute parental care not only to Pantawid Pamilya student- beneficiaries but also to abandoned and neglected children. The Department recognizes that foster family care is an alternative arrangement best suited for young children in need of temporary care outside their own homes. ### By: GELA FLOR R. PEREZ, Regional Information Officer II