Beneficiary of DSWD program graduates

Beaming with pride, Johanna Heart Genon went up on stage to receive her diploma. Her parents, seated on the bleachers inside the Cebu Coliseum, watched her accept her certificate of graduation, proof that she had finished senior high school.

Her family is among the partner-beneficiaries of the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Last April 8, 2018, Genon joined other University of Cebu (UC) senior high school graduates under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics strand in their commencement exercise.

They are the first batch of senior high school graduates under the K to 12 program of the National Government.

“My graduation means a lot to me because I never thought that I could reach this far in my quest for knowledge,” said Genon.

For years, Genon said, her family stayed inside the Chinese Cemetery in Barangay Carreta, Cebu City.

“Maulaw gyud ko sa una kung mangutana akong mga classmates kung asa mi nagpuyo,” she said.

Her father, Wilfredo, is a construction worker while her mother, Nenita, is a housewife.

In 2014, Genon’s family became one of the beneficiaries of MCCT, which covers poor families who were not included in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

In 2016, DSWD, through the MCCT, started providing rent subsidy for a maximum of P4,000 per month, which included Genon’s family.

In March 2017, the Genon’s became one of the 20 MCCT partner-beneficiaries who were able to have their own house in Mountain View Village in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City.

“Our life now with MCCT is much better than before. The support we have been receiving from the government gives us a decent place to live in and continuous education,” Genon said.

Now that she has finished senior high school, Genon plans to apply for the City Government’s scholarship program.

She plans to study civil engineering.