Let me introduce you to 6 exceptional children

I'll tell you the story of how this idea was born. A few months ago, I volunteered to assist in an arts workshop for the students of Wawa National High School in Montalban. It's a very small public high school at the foot of Bernardo Carpio's mountains in Rizal.

While I was talking with one of the locals there, he happened to tell me about this young boy who was so enthusiastic about school, and so driven to finish his high school education, despite his disability. The boy was born without any limbs. But because he was truly motivated to learn, he used a makeshift trolley (a wooden board fitted with wheels) and asked his classmates to push him to school, and to push him back home at the end of the day. (I remember wondering about how he would travel if there was no one willing to push.)

The local guy also told me that this boy sometimes went to school hungry, and without any money for food. And if it were not for some classmates who took pity on him, he wouldn't be eating the entire day.

Fast forward to around August this year. I remembered this story while we were thinking of a possible Isang Bata scholarship program to benefit underprivileged but truly deserving Filipino students. I sought out my teacher-contact from Wawa and asked her to come up with a list of students who are in dire need of help, but who, at the same time, are interested and determined to finish their schooling.

The list that Ma'am Ritchel Yorsua gave me consisted of 8 high school students. I quickly organized an interview/meet-up with the students and their parents, together with Wawa teachers and advisers, plus their principal. The interview was necessary to personally meet the children, assess their real needs, and learn about their stories.

Right now, I cannot even begin to think of how to tell you about the look of desperation I saw in one mother's eyes, for example. She has eleven children, no job, a sick child (probably cancer), and a 7-month old baby who only subsists on am (water from steamed rice). Or the toughness and acerbity that I strongly picked up from Rayan, that boy who was born limb-less. And the easy smile from Sam, a boy who walks 7 kilometers every single day, just to go to school. And that sometimes he doesn't eat anything before his walk, because there is absolutely nothing to eat in the house.

And that apparently, according to the teachers, this 14-kilometer daily walk is not an unusual thing among the students. And this universal daily hunger (not eating anything save for P1-chichiria from the store) and fainting during CAT are quite common, as well. Some parents can give P5 or P10 daily allowance, but how could anyone buy a decent meal with that amount?

Each of the 6 children has heart-rending stories to tell. Ma'am Yorsua has chosen well. I would like you meet these beautiful children whom all of us, hopefully, can start helping today.

1. Rayan, 14 years old. He was born without forearms and lower legs (from the knees down). He tells me he doesn't want to be an artist, when I asked him if he would consider learning to be a mouth-painter: "Wala akong hilig sa mga drowing-drowing na ganyan." He wants to be a lawyer and seemed very determined to be one. Rayan strikes me as a toughie, which is just as well. I immediately sensed that he doesn't want people to pity him.

How you can help Rayan: We need someone to sponsor the daily tricycle ride to and from school. If the donor can also throw in a few pesos more to make sure he has a healthy baon for school, it would make a world of difference.

2. Bernadette, 16 years old. She has 10 other siblings, 7 of them go to school as well. Her father is a jeepney driver, and her mother sometimes go up the mountains (nangangalakal) to pick whatever she can sell in town, like papayas or gabi (taro). Her father has already donated a kidney. She has a sister who could be sick of cancer, but her parents couldn't send her to a hospital for proper diagnosis (transportation money is a big deal for their family). Her youngest sibling, a 7 month old baby, doesn't drink infant milk. Instead, her mother feeds the baby am, which is water from boiling rice.

How you can help Bernadette: A donor can pay for her daily allowance and school projects, until she finishes high school. She is now in her second year. If she finishes high school, at least, her whole family has a better chance at survival.

3. Sam, 12 years old. When he was a year old, a pointed object struck his eye while playing with his siblings and damaged it completely. He went through an operation but he still lost his vision in one eye. The doctor asked them to go back after 11 years to see if something could still be done to restore his vision. This visit is long overdue, but his mother cannot pay for this checkup and the possible treatment/therapy because she has 8 other children to feed. Like many other students in Wawa, Sam walks 7 kilometers to school every day, and another 7 kilometers to his house after school.

How you can help Sam: Get him a good pair of slippers for walking, and shoes for school. Or donate cash to make sure Sam eats a healthy breakfast everyday before he leaves the house, for energy and better concentration. Or if you are (or know of) an eye doctor, you can probably take a look at his eye, and give medical advice.

4. Jericho. I did not meet Jericho but it was a couple of teachers who convinced me to get him on the list. According to his teachers, Jericho is a very diligent student, but he could not come to school regularly because he has to sometimes work for his family when his parents are indisposed. He also goes up to the mountains to pick produce, or carry sacks of coal for selling. Jericho probably lives the farthest because no one could tell me exactly just how far his house is. The answer I got was more like a surreal tale, except of course I believe it to be true: Jericho would apparently start walking home when school is dismissed but would still not reach his home very late into the night. He would then end up spending the night at someone's house, and resume his travel home at daybreak.

How you can help Jericho: His teachers say that regular daily allowance would go a long way, and some money for food and school projects. A donor who has more money to spare can probably help the family eat decently as well, so Jericho won't have to miss school. I am also at a loss as to how we can help with his "travel". If you have any ideas, please, let me know.

5. Lino, 18 years old. Lino did not make it to our meeting, but here are the facts I gathered about him. His father is dead, and his mother had gone missing. He is now under the care of a guardian, but like everyone else, he is in urgent need of financial assistance so he can graduate from high school.

How you can help Lino: Donor can contribute money for his daily allowance and school expenses.

6. Christine, 14 years old. Christine did not make it as well to the interview because her father, who is sick with cancer, needed medical attention and Christine had to stay and help out. Christine's mother works as a housemaid.

How you can help Christine: Considering the medical expenses of her family, Christine struggles with school-related expenses. Her sponsor could give her daily allowance and some cash for school projects.


There are two other children, John and Danilo. We already got a sponsor for John, so I'm not including his story here anymore. As for Danilo, I wasn't able to meet him personally nor ask for more information about him due to lack of time. But I will get details and appeal for help on his behalf soon, as well.

HOW MUCH? It doesn't take a lot of money to change these children's lives and give them a chance at a better future. If a donor can afford P1,500 a month, that amount would be ideal. If not, I think P1,000 a month can cover a child's daily allowance, breakfast and school projects.

YOUR DONATION WILL DIRECTLY GO TO THE CHILDREN/FAMILY, UP TO THE LAST CENTAVO. One of the items on the agenda during our meeting with the children, parents and teachers was the logistics with regards to sending the children's allowance. We have agreed on a system that ensures that all of the donated money will go directly to the family, and will be spent on the sponsored child's education.

There will be monthly updates from the parent/s, performance checks with the children's advisers and teachers, and direct communication between the donor and the sponsored child. In other words, a donor has three ways to check for improvement or updates: through the parents, the children themselves, and the children's teachers and advisers.

Every sponsorship comes with a commitment from the children and their families that the sponsored child will do his/her best to finish high school, and that the parents will support this vision.

PLEASE HELP THESE CHILDREN BY BEING A SPONSOR/DONOR, OR BY PASSING THIS MESSAGE ON. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.