4Ps child from Guimaras becomes Ambassadress, joins NCC 2024

Testimony of Quenny Joy Asgar

4Ps monitored child

SAN LORENZO, Guimaras – My name is Quenny Joy Lebuna Asgar. My friends call me Quen or Joy. I am 14 years of age and the fourth child among five children of Mr. and Mrs. Edilberto Sr. and Mary Rose Asgar. Currently, I am a Grade 9 Junior High School student. We live in San Lorenzo, Guimaras.

At an early age, I learned how to prepare and bring food for my parents who were laborers on the farm, together with my other siblings. I would also lend my little hands in rice planting when it is planting rice season. For me, it is the foundation of my strong bond with my family. We are being united by helping each other. We would eat together our simple lunch which is rice, vegetable soup and dried fish, under the big tree beside the rice field.

The realization of being poor came to me, without my intention, at that moment. I was also included in the wasted group of children at school, which means I was underweight or malnourished. I can see too that my things were all worn out and my parents would only buy one for us. But our parents would always tell us and I remembered them saying, that as long as our family is together, even if we have little to no food to eat, as long as all of us were able to share food, we’ll be able to survive. It gave me strength and enough motivation to do well in my studies and other activities at school or in the community. I always think about how to make my parents proud and happy in everything I do. With a deep sense of determination and hope, I started to engage in different sports such as ball games and running. With being active in sports, my health improved.

I don’t let challenges for me and my family stop me from pursuing my dreams. However, life is not always full of happy days because unexpectedly my brother got into trouble. His life was put in danger when he was stabbed during a fiesta in a nearby barangay. He was able to survive but my parents had to sell some of our property including our carabao to finance his medical needs. It was followed by a recent motorcycle accident of my parents. By the grace of the Lord, my parents were safe but I can recall how I felt and what I thought when it happened. I was so afraid at that time, I thought I lost them forever.

Fortunately, our household became a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). I can recall how our parents were able to have a little breath of ease whenever my mother would claim our cash grant. It helped a lot for my family to focus on earning for other house expenses aside from education and health needs. My parents also developed into a more responsible parent. They seem to have learned how to become responsible parents through the sessions that they were attending as part of the program’s set conditions.

My siblings and I can finally ask for new school supplies. We were able to focus a little more on our studies and on improving ourselves as children. We are given time to explore our abilities by joining school and community activities. My parents can already provide for our needs when we participate in activities. It gave me an additional boost to continue dreaming and improving, becoming better not just as a student but also as a daughter and as a person.

I am now full of passion as I won the 4Ps Exemplary Provincial Search in our province and later joined the Regional Level wherein I am the 4th runner-up. I have also the chance to join the National Children’s Congress in Mandaue City, Cebu on November 18-22, 2024.

Through this, I am not just to make my parents proud but also to contribute to making my generation inspired and persevere. This motivates me more than anything. My little ways of advocating and modeling, “agri-preneur” by having an income from the vegetable crop that I produce and sharing my knowledge and learnings with my younger friends and neighbors whenever we gather for a tutorial session of basic literacy, have been guiding me to become a young warrior to champion in building a better world.

At this moment in my life, just like my dream to become a flight attendant, I am more than excited about the destination that I am looking forward to. My faith is bigger than the poverty that my family has to work hard to survive because I believe that the pilot that maneuvers the plane of life that I am riding right now has all the plans ready for me ahead, I believe that pilot is The Lord Almighty that always loves me. (Submitted by San Lorenzo Municipal Link, Andrea Jamandron of Iloilo-Guimaras POO)