“I Won’t Quit School”

Crislyn Felisilda - Posted on September 24, 2010

There are hundreds of impoverished children in the Himaya hinterlands whose parents are struggling to provide for their family’s basic needs. Although public school education is free, Angelica’s parents could barely support their kids’ education because of the additional costs of sending children to school, such as school supplies and transportation fees. Thankfully, World Vision has provided Angelica and other children living in poverty in Himaya the means and motivation to stay in school.

Sponsored child Angelica, 10, could have been out laboring in the fields or working with her mother as a servant at a wealthy household. “I had thought of stopping school because my parents couldn’t afford my education,” says fifth grader Angelica. “It was embarrassing to go to school with nothing.”

Angelica lives in far-flung village within the Himaya hinterlands. Her father, Jonathan, 39 is a tenant farmer, who does not own the land he tills. Her mother, Gloria, 39, is a domestic helper working for a wealthy family in town. Gloria earns P1, 500 ($32.6) a month which clearly isn’t sufficient to support her family’s needs, such as buying milk for her 2-year-old son, Matthew. Angelica’s family if forced to depend primarily on Jonathan’s farming income. But, recently, the El Nino crisis which the Philippines suffered through until a short time ago had dried up the fields, decreasing farm productivity. “The drought has prompted my husband to stop planting to cut losses,” shares Gloria.

Angelica’s family has learned to tighten their budget. They eat lugaw (rice gruel) every morning. When they don’t have money, they borrow rice from their neighbors, which they will repay at harvest. If they can’t borrow rice, they boil bananas and camote (sweet potato). “Every day, I ask God to provide us food on our table. I don’t like to be hungry,” says Angelica.

Jonathan and Gloria’s children, Jonathan Jr., 15, Lumera, 13, and Angelica, 10, are used to their modest circumstances. Their house is made of bamboo, wood, and nipa (coconut shingles). Instead of having a bed, they sleep on a banig mat, woven from palm fronds. They couldn’t fit a bed inside if they could afford one. They also don’t have running water, electricity, or appliances, like a radio or television. “I use a kerosene lamp to do my homework at night,” shares Angelica.

Last year, Angelica only had two new notebooks, the rest were recycled. Thankfully, an old bag and some clothes were donated by a kind neighbor. “I envied my classmates whose things were complete for school,” recalls Angelica. Sometimes, she would feel hesitant to do school projects and assignment because she couldn’t afford the corresponding expenses or fees some projects would entail. “I had thought of stopping school just to help my family earn,” recounts Angelica. “I supposed serving wealthy families with my mom could help us earn additional income.”

Thankfully, Angelica found relief when she was recently enrolled in World Vision’s sponsorship program. World Vision provided the things needed for school, such as paper pads, pencils, pens, crayons, notebooks, a pencil case, and plastic envelope to Angelica and more than 2,700 other children in Himaya. “If not for World Vision, I might not have been able to go to school this year.”

Apart from receiving school supplies, Angelica and other kids in her community were educated regarding children’s rights. “Through World Vision, I’m totally convinced not to quit school anymore” says Angelica. She realized that the only way to have a better future is to finish school. “I want to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher someday,” she added.

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