When you have little to give from your pocket, how can you help others improve their lives?
This was the challenge a 44-year-old mother took upon herself as recipient of a government financial aid program.
Aileen Agan helps others through volunteerism.
In Kobe Zone 3, barangay Canduman, Mandaue City, Agan mobilizes 47 member-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in clean-up drives every first Sunday of the month.
Under the 4Ps conditional cash transfer program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), very low-income families get monthly stipends for each child they keep in school and bring in for regular health checkups in the barangay center.
“I’ve always believed that our lives don’t stop at being beneficiaries. Positive change for the community should start within us,” Agan said in Cebuano.
Kobe is a relocation site for displaced informal settlers from the North Reclamation Area and Cebu City port area and fire victims from Mandaue City.
Since the 4Ps began in in 2010, Agan has acted as parent leader of their group.
Out of five 4Ps leaders in their barangay, she has the most number of members. She said it wasn’t hard to organize the mothers since they share the same dream for their neighborhood.
VISION
“We should not wait for others to act for us. We are beneficiaries,” she said.
A Kobe resident for the past five years, Agan has already seen improvements in their place.
Garbage piles have lessened. Residents are more disciplined and their attitude has changed for the better, she said.
Last April, she spearheaded a sports fest for local youths. She said the event was a good way to keep them away from vices.
Agan also organizes meetings on family development, education and empowerment. As a chapel leader, she gives catechism classes to children.
reach out
Neighbors treat her not just as a leader but as an extended family member. They run to her when they need help and advice.
An encounter with an 18-year-old girl a year ago left a deep impression.
“The girl was confused and depressed. She roamed around the community naked. Everyone tried to stop her. She didn’t listen to anyone, not even to her mother. People were looking for me to talk to the girl,” she recalled.
When she approached the teenager, the girl hugged her tightly and whispered a plea for help.
“She told me she wanted to be treated. She told me I was the only one who could help her,” she recalled.
Accompanied by her friend, Rose, she brought the girl to a mental asylum. The girl got better and is now in college taking up an education degree.
Every time a mother is in labor, Agan goes out of her way to see a village official to secure clearance to use the barangay ambulance.
“You will never know how you touch the lives of other people. Just help when there is an opportunity to do it. This is the greatest lesson I learned,” she said.
HOSPITALIZED
Agan did not realize how many lives she touched until she got hospitalized for diarrhea and vomiting last May.
Her neighbors visited her. Surrounded by people she considers as second family, Agan was moved by their prayers for her recovery.
“I did not realize before that my actions would have an impact on others. I saw that many people value my efforts in the community,” she said.
Agan is a hands-on mother to six children. Because the income of her husband, an employee of Mandaue City Hall, cannot sustain their needs, she sells vegetables in front of her house.
As a 4Ps beneficiary, she receives P2,800 every two months.
She is also part of the Kobe Canduman Homeowners Association Inc. Women, which is under the “My Mandaue” program, a partnership of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) and the Mandaue city government.
LIVELIHOOD
The program creates sustainable livelihood projects for mothers. In Kobe, Agan makes purses and bags out of scrap cloth with other women.
“As a leader, you need to be a role model to the members. You cannot do that if you don’t give the best to your family. I remind them to work hard to send their children to school and to have a better life,” she said.
Agan credits her mother for teaching her the importance of helping others without asking for something in return.
“She told me that life should not stop within the home. We should extend our arms to others. No matter how small the effort, share it whole-heartedly. Let God do the rest,” she said.
Agan said she hopes to be able to mobilize residents to educate young children.
“We only live once in this world. So whatever good you want to do, do it now. Even if you have nothing to give, listen to the problems of others. Share your good deeds,” she said.