“I really wanted to finish my studies, because I saw the hardships, the struggles of my parents, how they sacrificed everyday just to put food on our table,” a sobbing Gerlyn Mecono said as she recalled her family’s hand-to-mouth life.

Gerlyn, who recently graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in Social Science degree from Eastern Samar State University – Can-avid Campus, is the first in her family to graduate from college.

Living in Barangay Trinidad 9 km upstream from the town of Oras, Eastern Samar, with her parents, Joel and Rowena Mecono, and three other siblings, Gerlyn had to endure surviving in one of the remote, economically challenged barangays in the province, a hotspot area tagged by the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC).

“I remember Tatay building a makeshift wooden cart so he could transport and transfer sacks of copra to the boats down the river because we do not have a motorcycle. Both nanay and tatay would then stay up even at 2 or 3 a.m., waiting until the river subsides, and took a boat trip downtown, where the copras would then be sold for a very unreasonable price,” Gerlyn said in between sobs.

“Success is about taking advantage of opportunity,” an old adage says.  But for Gerlyn and many other people living in remote areas, not everybody has the opportunity to sail through the storms of life, to experience even a glimpse of rainbow after the storm.

Luckily for her, the “Isang Propesyonal, Isang Pamilya” (IPIP) program of Eastern Samar Governor Ben P. Evardone, through the provincial government, was realized just in time.

Challenge for the parents

In her desire to earn more for her children’s allowance, Nanay Rowena, Gerlyn’s mother, did not just focus on copra as their sole source of income.  Together with her husband, the couple planted vegetables, other crops, did gardening, sold ‘karan-on’ and ‘bayong’ bags, just to make ways and means to come up with a P1,000 weekly allowance for their three children residing and studying in Can-avid, a distance of about 23 kilometers from their town, Oras.

“It was never easy for us poor but determined parents to send our children to school especially since I haven’t even graduated high school and my husband only reached Grade 2, which is why the IPIP program has been a great help for us struggling parents,” Rowena said.

She proudly shared that Gerlyn is a consistent honor student since elementary. “She’s a good kid, smart, and patient. She even graduated wearing clothes and shoes that we only borrowed just for her to look presentable,” she said pointing at her pink and black dress.

“All I can say to our children, on behalf of all parents here, please look back and give back to your parents, especially your siblings,” Rowena mused.

Gov. Evardone:  the inspiration behind the IPIP program

A product himself of a poor fisher in an island barangay in Eastern Samar, the governor recalled himself selling smoked fishcake (locally known as “pudpod”) to towns as far as Guiuan in Eastern Samar to financially help his family during his younger years.  He also worked as a waiter and balut vendor in Manila to sustain his education until he became a lawyer, a Congressman, and now the Governor of Eastern Samar.

A living testament to how education can lift people out of poverty, Gov. Evardone envisioned an educational assistance program that aims to ensure that in every Estehanon family, there should be one professional with a permanent job who will help alleviate the economic plight of his, her family and, in turn, secure education for their younger sibling.

Thus, the Isang Propesyonal, Isang Pamilya Program was born.

“It is very fulfilling to have pioneer graduates under the IPIP program especially that some of you graduated with honors and are now the first degree holders in your respective families,” Gov. Evardone said in his message during the Celebration and Thanksgiving for the graduates and their parents on June 8, 2023.  The activity was spearheaded by the provincial government.

“The IPIP program is inspired by the belief that one degree holder in the family will serve as an inspiration who will motivate the rest of the siblings to also finish college,” the Governor continued.

According to Emmanuel Arago, IPIP program coordinator, some 400 scholars for the 1st Semester of SY 2022-2023, and 426 scholars for the 2nd Semester, already received their P3,000 monthly allowance under the said program amounting to a total of P12,540,000.

For school year 2023-2024, there were 331 previous IPIP scholars up renewal this coming first semester, with 63 new applicants for screening.  There are still 143 slots left to complete the 500 allotment for the coming school year, Arago said.

These scholars were beneficiaries of the IPIP program under the financial donation of GT Foundation of Metrobank sourced by the governor himself.

Facing the future

Hopes ran high for Gerlyn’s family to escape the vicious cycle of abject poverty sooner or later, thanks in large part to the IPIP program.  Eating rice paired with salt as main menu of a usual meal, or walking three hours to reach home, will soon become images of past memories.  The reality at present, though, is still a dogged fight, a battle that needed an armory of prayers, and a bit of favorable shower from lady luck.

IPIP was the best part as a launching start, this must be duly credited, but the journey onwards still counted determination and perseverance as critical factors on ending for good a poor situation.

Gerlyn is now reviewing for the Licensure Examination for Teachers. With bated breath, she is looking forward to a brighter future for her family. And with that secured, she is also looking into making a difference in the lives of others like her, the next generation, as an educator who will set as an example, a promising source of inspiration for her learners. (MMP/VTG/PIA Eastern Samar)