October 17, 2025
She got a scholarship for herself—and medical assistance for her grandmother
By Joy Rojas
Like her fellow Tzu Chi scholars, 23-year-old Daneca Pera sought financial support for her education simply because she couldn’t afford it. Daneca, whose parents split when she was in kindergarten, lives with her grandparents, Salbador and Erlinda Malto. Her father has since moved on with his new family, and her mother passed way from complications of stage 4 breast cancer in 2020.
A Tzu Chi scholarship didn’t just give her the resources to focus on her studies (and maintain her general weighted average of 1.21) at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, where she’s on her third year in BA communication research. Monthly Humanity classes, like the one on October 14 that focused on Tzu Chi’s mission of charity, help her grow “personally, spiritually, mentally,” she says.
Unexpectedly, it was through her Tzu Chi scholarship that Daneca was able to get medical assistance for her grandmother. During a home visitation, a criterion to gauge if an applicant qualifies for educational support, Tzu Chi volunteers met the Maltos and asked about their respective heath conditions. Erlinda, 74, has diabetes, and her last checkup was in 2023, while Salbador, 84, has hypertension, coronary heart disease, and asthma, as indicated in his checkup in 2022.
“My grandmother is still mobile but she cannot stand for a very long time,” explains Daneca. “She also has poor eyesight, so she needs a companion, someone to look after her. That’s me.”
Tzu Chi covered Erlinda’s latest laboratory tests to get an update on her diagnosis. True enough, the results confirmed diabetes and its complications: high blood sugar, hypertension, high cholesterol, fatty liver, and compromised vision. From Tzu Chi’s Free Clinic Services, she was given maintenance medication to control her blood sugar, cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
Given the family’s history of breast cancer, doctors decided to check Daneca as well. In an initial physical exam, a doctor felt a lump on her left breast. A mammogram and ultrasound were ordered, and while waiting for the results, Daneca couldn’t help but overthink and worry if she was destined for the same fate as her mother.
Thankfully, the two lumps on her left breast and three on the right all turned out to be benign. A doctor taught her the right way to palpate her breasts for lumps and reminded her to get regular screenings.
With her clean bill of health and regular medications to manage her grandmother’s condition, Daneca can fully attend to her studies.
“I really thought I was just going to get a scholarship from Tzu Chi,” she says. “But they gave me more than that. They didn’t just help me; they helped my grandmother too.”
Now on her third year in BA Communication Research at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Tzu Chi scholar Daneca Pera has a general weighted average of 1.21.
Salbador and Erlinda Malto help raise their granddaughter Daneca Pera after her parents split when she was in kindergarten. Daneca’s father has since moved on with his new family, and her mother passed away from stage 4 breast cancer in 2020.
During a home visitation, Tzu Chi volunteers (left) learned about the respective health concerns of Erlinda Malto and Daneca Pera.
Erlinda Malto gives granddaughter Daneca Pera a kiss. “She’s still mobile but she cannot stand for a very long time,” explains Daneca. “She also has poor eyesight, so she needs a companion, someone to look after her. That’s me.”