It’s often said that those who have the least, give the most. In the case of the Manuel family from Solana, Cagayan, this couldn’t be truer.

More than a decade ago, they were among the many struggling Filipino families supported by the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps. Back then, the program’s financial assistance helped the Manuels afford basic needs and ensured that their children stayed in school. For them, 4Ps was a lifeline and they never forgot it.

Today, that same family has become one of the strongest partners of the program in Cagayan Valley. Through their own initiative called I-SAVED (Saving Vulnerable, Education and Dreams), the Manuel family now works hand-in-hand with DSWD to give back to the same communities they once belonged to.

On June 18, 2025, during the 1st Semester Consultation Meeting of DSWD Field Office II with Civil Society Organization (CSO) partners, the Manuel family’s transformation came full circle. Their organization, I-SAVED, was formally welcomed as one of the agency’s official CSO partners during a ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement in Tuguegarao City.

“I myself was a product of the program,” shared Dr. John Mauro Manuel, the eldest son and founder of I-SAVED. “Nasa puso naming pamilya ang tumulong sa mga batang walang wala, gaya namin noon. Kaya through this partnership with DSWD, we hope to reach even more 4Ps youth and help them reach their dreams too.”

The family started I-SAVED in 2016 with the goal of helping vulnerable children access education, especially those who, like them before, could not afford it. What began as a simple volunteer effort has grown into a full-fledged movement. Over the years, the organization has supported scholars with tuition and allowances, distributed school supplies to more than 1,000 children, and provided hygiene kits and feeding materials to public schools.

But their impact goes far beyond donations. The Manuels also reach out to Indigenous communities in Cagayan and Kalinga, teaching Aeta children how to read, write, and count—many of whom had never held a pencil or seen a classroom before. These sessions are held weekly, regardless of weather or funding. They simply go, teach, and serve.

Some of I-SAVED’s current beneficiaries are also 4Ps members, continuing the cycle of support. The Manuel family understands their struggles because they lived it. And that’s what makes their advocacy deeply personal and effective.

During the height of the pandemic, the family launched creative fundraising efforts like “Mine for a Cause,” “Shop and Share,” and even directed a theatre play to generate support for their projects. They also initiated a DepEd-approved program called “Keeping AHEAD (An Hour Each Day with My Child)” to help reduce absenteeism and dropouts, of which issues they themselves once faced as children.

What’s even more remarkable is that the Manuels have sustained all these initiatives mostly through their own resources. Their parents, a barangay tanod and a laborer, instilled in them the values of hard work, faith, and service to others. Those values remain at the heart of everything they do.

All six siblings have since grown up to become role models. Dr. Manuel is now a PhD holder, an educator and a Sanguniang Bayan Member, one sibling is a police officer, another is a teacher, and the younger ones are consistent academic achievers. Each one of them—once a 4Ps child—is now helping raise others up.

The family has received national and international recognition, including the 2019 Jollibee Family Values Award (National Winner in Education), the Outstanding Volunteer Award from DSWD Region II, and the Young Volunteer Award from Vietnam. But for them, the real reward is seeing children learn, dream, and succeed, especially those coming from 4Ps households.

From being beneficiaries to becoming partners, the Manuel family’s story is one of transformation, gratitude, and unwavering love for the community. They are living proof that with the right support, families can rise, and when they do, they can become the support system for others.

Now that they’re on the other side of the program, the Manuels have made it their life’s mission to give back to the very foundation that helped build their future. And in doing so, they’re not just telling their success story, they’re helping write new ones for the next generation of 4Ps children.

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