Growing up, Ann Millennie Antoque, 24, from Toledo City in Cebu, recalls how hard life was for her family.
From an early age, Ann was aware that her parents had to work hard to make ends meet and send all her siblings to school.
“Lisod jud kaayo ang kahimtang sauna sa among family, and in fact, kay daghan baya ming mag-igsuon, so naglisod gyud among parents nga peskwelahon ming tanan sa college,” said Ann.
(Our life before was very hard. Our parents struggled to send all of us to school up to college.)
Ann hardly had school supplies when she was in grade school. She was frequently unable to join extracurricular activities as she could not afford the required fees.
Although she was aware of her family's limited resources, she also admires her parents' perseverance and hard work in meeting the family's needs. Ann's mother supplements the family's income with a small sari-sari store, while her father is a truck driver.
In 2010, Ann’s family was one of the households identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for inclusion in the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps). This was when things took a turn for the better for the Antoque family.
Ann said her family's inclusion in the 4Ps was a life-changing moment for them, especially for her in her dream to finish her studies.
“Being a beneficiary of the 4Ps, it opened a lot of opportunities for me pud nga naa diay mga scholarship programs like sa CHED nga nag offer silag tertiary education subsidy,” said Ann.
(Being a 4Ps beneficiary, it opened a lot of opportunities for me as there are scholarship programs like CHED that offer free tertiary education subsidies.)
Ann said she first learned about the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) scholarship from the municipal link in their barangay.
“Aduna mi municipal link sa among barangay nga siya ang nag urge nako to inquire with CHED for any scholarship nga available nga pwede nako ma avail,” recalls Ann.
(We have a municipal link in our barangay who urged me to inquire with CHED for any scholarship that I could avail of.)
From CHED, Ann learned about UNIFAST or the Unified Student Financial Assistance System scholarship under the agency’s Tertiary Education Subsidy, which she immediately applied for.
As a CHED scholar, she was given an allowance to cover her school books, supplies, transportation costs, and other personal expenses. This also includes an allowance for house rent and other costs associated with her studies.
"With the CHED UNIFAST scholarship program, wala na gyud ko nag problema with regards to tuition; naka save gyud mi og panggasto sa ako tuition,” she said.
(With the CHED UNIFAST scholarship program, I never had to worry about my tuition. We were able to save money for my tuition for my desired college degree.)
Ann is grateful that she was able to avail of the CHED scholarship as it helped her realize her dream of landing a good job. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation in July 2022, earning a degree of Bachelor of Science in Social Work.
“Without the CHED scholarship program, dili siguro ko mahimung social worker karon, kay lisod gyud ang sitwasyon sa among pamilya sauna,” adds Ann.
(Without the CHED scholarship program, I would not be a social worker now, because the situation in our family before was really hard.)
Ann is one of the many children who belong to the 4Ps family who have availed of the UNIFAST scholarship.
