Pedicab driver’s daughter thankful for BBM educational assistance
By Renelle L. Escuadro
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — Stephanie Nicole E. Lumakin, felt blessed for being one of the five Presidential scholars of Barangay Obrero in Butuan City who received P20,000 from the Bawat Barangay Makikinabang (BBM) program funded through the Socio-Civic Projects Fund (SCPF).
Lumakin, 20, is a BS Entrepreneurship student and the eldest of seven siblings.
“Our family is not small, so sustaining the daily needs of my education is very challenging for my parents, especially with the scant income of my father, a pedicab driver, while my mother works as a cashier in a local bakery,” she said, during an interview with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga on Sept. 16.
“Thank you, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. This is a big help to my hardworking parents,” she added.
“The P20,000 took care of my tuition,” Lumakin told PIA. “A portion of the money was also used to pay the fees for our school organization since I am one of its officers.”
She also encouraged the youth in her community to participate in the barangay activities. “The barangay council witnessed that my family is active in our barangay activities, especially my mother, who maintains our community garden.”
“I feel this is one of the reasons why I was chosen as one of the Presidential scholars, making me more worthy as a beneficiary of the program,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Bagong Pilipinas Presidential Scholars is a government educational assistance program created to help complete the studies of over 200,000 college students across the country.
This significant initiative forms part of the Bawat Barangay Makikinabang program of BBM’s administration, which empowers the barangays across the country to implement community projects and provide scholarship assistance. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands)