“The heaviest loads don’t break us — they build us.”

This week’s kamustahan with the New Lucena ICW family was like a sunrise after a long night — full of warmth, gratitude, and quiet determination. Each story reminded us that resilience grows best in the soil of daily practice, faith, and service.

Kagawad Andrea – Peace as a Daily Practice

“I choose to focus on thankfulness rather than the weight of the past.”

Andrea looks back on days of stress and pain not with bitterness, but with gratitude. By consistently practicing wellness with her daughter — ending the day with calm and starting it with renewal — she’s proof that peace of mind is not an accident, but a habit.

Secretary Catherine – Double Duty, One Grateful Heart

“Every new day is a blessing and an opportunity to serve both in my barangay and at home.”

Catherine balances the demands of being a community leader and a full-time mom. Her secret? Seeing service not as a burden but as a privilege. She wears both hats with joy, knowing that her influence is shaping not just her barangay but her children’s future.

Kagawad Roda – Showing Up with Courage

“No matter how heavy the load, I choose not to give up.”

Roda’s philosophy is simple but powerful: courage is not the absence of hardship, but the decision to keep walking forward despite it. For her, each trial is not a roadblock, but a training ground for bigger battles and greater victories ahead.

Ma’am Divina – Hope Over Despair

“Every dawn carries the promise of a better tomorrow.”

For Divina, life’s toughest days are met with faith and prayer. She chooses light over darkness, hope over despair, and persistence over giving in. Her steady belief in brighter days keeps her moving forward, even when the path is unclear.

The SEA Inc. IPAT-SIAD program thrives on the very qualities this week’s sharings reflect: gratitude, service, perseverance, and hope.

• Gratitude (Andrea, Catherine) keeps community leaders grounded and connected to the people they serve.
• Service (Catherine) turns individual effort into collective progress — the heart of sustainable development.
• Perseverance (Roda) ensures projects endure through funding gaps, delays, or setbacks.
• Hope (Divina) inspires communities to keep aiming for long-term transformation even in the face of hardship.

Just as in IPAT-SIAD, the journey is not just about reaching goals — it’s about building the inner strength to sustain them.

“You can’t always choose your load, but you can choose your posture — stand tall, walk steady, and keep your eyes on the sunrise.”

This week, New Lucena reminded us: the most powerful community transformation starts with inner transformation. And when leaders lead from a place of gratitude and grit, they light the way for everyone else to follow.