October 27, 2026
From Tzu Chi scholar to DSWD officer who inspires
By Thania Florendo
When Daniella Macogue gave an inspirational talk before Tzu Chi scholars during the third Humanities class on October 11 at the Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila, it wasn’t too long ago when the 26-year-old was on the other side of the podium, listening to a guest speaker’s motivational speech.
Like the 553 scholars who attended in person and via livestream from Pampanga, Bicol, Palo, Iloilo, Davao, and Zamboanga, Macogue, a Tzu Chi scholar who graduated in 2023, dreamed of easing her family out of poverty. What she didn’t expect was that she would be instrumental in helping other families achieve that same dream.
The dream started as early as her elementary school years. The daughter of a porter who loaded and unloaded goods at a match company, she learned to make do with her share of his humble earnings. She walked to school to save her meager allowance—if she received any at all—and skipped field trips because her parents couldn’t afford them.
“I’ll drop by your school later to give you your allowance,” her homemaker mother would say. Macogue waited and waited until it was time to go home.
What her father could afford was tuition for a vocational course, which her two older siblings took. Not Macogue. Convinced that higher education was the way out of financial struggle, she applied and was accepted to the Universidad de Manila, where she majored in social work. “I didn’t have a specific course in mind,” she said of her unexpected choice. “I just wanted to finish college so I could help my parents.”
In time, she would see the wisdom of her decision. “I don’t just help my family, I help other families too,” she said. “Social workers provide interventions to help a family or community cope with their challenges.”
Her interest in social work was further enhanced by the Tzu Chi Foundation. Following a professor’s advice, she tried her luck at a scholarship offered by the foundation’s Educational Assistance Program. It was the pandemic, the country was under strict lockdown, and she figured she had nothing to lose. To her surprise, she was accepted, and the opportunity led her to a community that supported her dreams.
Through allowances provided by the scholarship, she saved enough money to purchase a second-hand laptop that saw her through online classes. When it was time to intern, she chose to do it at Tzu Chi, where she had already been volunteering at its various programs. By then, she had learned to love the foundation and its missions, so much so that she worked for Tzu Chi after she graduated cum laude and passed the board. A social welfare officer for Tzu Chi’s Charity Department, she handled cases in Tzu Chi’s Pampanga chapter.
“Working with Tzu Chi, I learned that you don’t have to be rich to help others,” said Macogue who was with the foundation from 2023 to 2025. “You can help in any way you can.”
This and other valuable lessons now serve her well at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), where she is project development officer II for Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, DSWD’s conditional cash transfer program for indigent families.
Through Tzu Chi’s influence, she teaches families to develop compassion for others, and assures them that all forms of help are welcome and appreciated, for as long as they do their best and extend help from the heart.
Volunteering with Tzu Chi has made her an effective facilitator and speaker of DSWD’s Family Development Session, a program that inculcates grantees with knowledge and skills for responsible parenting. “Before, I was too nervous and shy to hold a mic. Now, if you give me a mic, I might not let it go,” she said with a laugh.
She even adopted a number of Tzu Chi etiquette. She gives and receives things with a slight bow and always with her two hands. “And I don’t feel complete if I don’t wear my shirt tucked in,” she said.
As for her dream? Macogue, the first in her family to finish college, is proud to say that she contributed to the renovation of her family’s home. Together with her siblings, she is able to treat her parents to a nice meal in a restaurant or a day trip out of the city.
The scholars cheered for her achievements and this encouraging thought: Suddenly, their own dreams are well within their reach.
When you help a Tzu Chi scholar, your assistance impacts entire families and communities. It doesn’t take much to change lives. Deposit your donation to any of these bank accounts:
Metrobank:
Account Name: Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines Inc.
Account Number: 163-3-163-07190-9
BDO:
Account Name: Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines Inc.
Account Number: 011-9-7800-180-0
Once on the other side of the podium, Tzu Chi scholar alumna and former Tzu Chi Charity Department Social Welfare Officer Daniella Macogue gives an inspirational talk at the third Humanities class on October 11.
(Third from right) Holding up her certificate after symbolic graduation rites for Tzu Chi scholars
(In vest) With gratitude, raising her angpao from Dharma Master Cheng Yen with Tzu Chi Pampanga scholars, staff, and volunteers
(Second row, second from right) All smiles with Tzu Chi Charity Department staff, Tzu Chi Bicol’s Tony Tan (standing, second from left), and Tzu Chi Zamboanga’s Dr. Anton Mari Lim (back row) after the Tzu Chi Charity Run for Education at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, in 2024
(First row, left) With colleagues at DSWD’s Pugay Tagumpay, a ceremonial graduation for families exiting the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps
Comfortable with a mic, Daniella Macogue speaks to families in a Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
(Second from left) Daniella Macogue may have left Tzu Chi, but the habit of tucking in her shirt stayed with her at DSWD. “I don’t feel complete without it,” she said.