Feature: 4Ps build character, confidence for Parent Leaders
An empowered individual, a loving wife, and a responsible mother – these traits embody Rubelyn Caparo, a Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) parent leader of Barangay Dulag, Butuan City.
For 10 challenging years of being a 4Ps Parent Leader (PL), she harnessed her capacity to be a catalyst in serving her co-beneficiaries. As someone who has limited access to formal education, the DSWD training she attended as a volunteer has been a medium for her character development.
Aside from being a PL, she was once a Daycare Worker for three (3) years way back 2010-2012. She was a member of the Tagpulangi Lilo Farmers Irrigators Association, Inc. in 2003 and eventually became the President of the said association in December 2020. In 2018, she became one of the DAWAS (Dulag Water Association) Board of Trustees and President in Tagpulangi Elementary School Alumni and School Governing Council, wherein she received a citation for her invaluable cooperation, assistance, and support extended to the success of the school programs and projects implementation.
An advocate for organic farming, she served as Resource Speaker for the Department of Agriculture and National Irrigation Association in Barangay Dulag and has assisted City Link in the conduct of Family Development Session in Barangay Dulag throughout the years as a parent-leader especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The lessons I learned during the monthly Family Development Session are really helpful in reminding us of our role as parents, as well as to understand the difficulties our children are facing while growing up. I am so glad that my children also excel in their studies and actively participate in youth activities in the community and school,” Rubelyn said.
As a wife and a partner, she learned that it takes two to tango. Her husband Alrio would never be successful or be able to achieve his plans for his family if Rubelyn was not supportive to him. When the family was facing financial problems, Rubelyn made sure she found means to assist her husband. Her helping hand was so effective in encouraging his husband to work hard for the family.
Volunteering in their community brings countless joy to Rubelyn. Through volunteerism, she was able to develop within herself the integrity working with the people, especially the needy ones. They trust and learn a lot of things from her as well, and the other way around. She is also willing to delegate tasks to her fellow farmers and Pantawid beneficiaries when needed.
Above all, working as a volunteer heightened her influence and self-awareness which eventually gave her the confidence and power to work well with the people around her.
“As a volunteer, I gained confidence and knowledge. Indeed, education comes in different ways. It is the mother of leadership,” Rubelyn shared. (Social Marketing Section/DSWD Field Office Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
