03/08/2026
๐๐๐ฌ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐จ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐๐ฅ
Raising a family is never easy. It is especially difficult if you are left alone with no one to share the struggles of escaping the impoverished life brought about by poverty.
Rietzel and Eden Abello moved from the province to the city in the hopes of a better life as they start their own family. Bringing with them only hope and a few coins, they began dreaming of a better future for their four children in a new environment in Mampang, Zamboanga City.
Without a diploma in hand, their opportunities were quite limited, if not scarce, even in the vast urban city. Yet their faith is strong and their determination is even stronger. Eden, with her skills in massage therapy, managed to make side hustles that earned her a few peso. Rietzel, on the other hand, shed countless drops of sweat and endured the scorching heat of the sun as a construction worker earning a daily wage that barely supported the needs of his growing family. Insufficient as it was, they know that they cannot afford to give up, especially not with four little angels to raise.
But life was very unpredictable, to say the least. Just as they started being accustomed to the city life, their family stability was shattered in 2014, when Rietzel passed away from a cardiac arrest, leaving Eden a widow with a newborn daughter, Danica.
Eden was devastated. She was broke. To top it all, she has 4 little children to raise. How could she possibly survive?
During this period of extreme vulnerability, as they say, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Abello family was registered as a member of the countryโs conditional cash-transfer program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that aids poor families by providing financial support for the education and health of children.
The program became a vital safety net, providing the necessary financial and health monitoring that allowed Eden to navigate the hardships of solo parenthood while continuing her demanding work as a massage therapist.
Seeing their mom exhausting herself in a single-income household, the Abello children helped their solo-parent mom in ways that they know how. They thrived in school. Daniela and AJ have maintained a consistent record of high honors since their elementary years, proving that poverty is not a barrier to excellence when a student has a supportive home environment.
Through the programโs monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS), beneficiaries like Eden are constantly reminded of the value of education as this may be their ticket to a better life. Eden knows that a diploma would allow her children to explore opportunities she and her husband never had because of poverty.
Now, with Daniela in her fourth year of college, the family stands on the brink of a major milestone. Mrs. Edenโs perseverance highlights the success of the program in fostering human capital, ensuring that the next generation of the Abello family is equipped with the education and values needed to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
"๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐ค ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ช๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฌ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐-๐๐จ๐. ๐ผ๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ก๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ, ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ค๐จ, ๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ช๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฎ."
