Featured Scholar of the Week:
“Diana Rose, Our Future Math Teacher”
I will write this feature not as a a writer or a blogger but as a volunteer-teacher who so much love this little girl…
This is Diana Mae Santos.
Diana is just one of the hundreds of we so called PEARLS kids. She regularly attends our daily feeding program along with her siblings.
Their parents couldn’t afford to give them a healthy and hearty breakfast everyday. Her father works as a scavenger while her mother is a part time manicurist.
Her eldest brother is still studying and their youngest sister, Shakira is just eight months old.
This explains how hard their life is.
Diana used to call me “Ate Diwata” but sometimes when she’s teasing me, “Ate Cielo hindi naman diwata” would do.
I’ve personally known her over a year ago. Actually it was her older sister, Rhea whom became my student every Sunday morning for the After School Program of Project Pearls. I handled grade seven students before.
Ever since then, Rhea would always wait for me outside the Helping Land vicinity every Sunday.
Along with her are her other siblings and cousin then we will all go to the Project Pearls’ courtyard located in the heart of their slum community.
Her siblings include Dianna who’s on the third grade before.
Dianna don’t talk to me nor being close to me as much as her siblings and cousin do.
Maybe because she’s shy and she feel a bit awkward getting close to me because of her skin condition.
She has rashes on her whole body and according to Rhea this is a disease that Dianna get because she is allergic to different kinds of colored food. I don’t know what does this mean and I didn’t bother to ask for more information because I don’t want Dianna to get offended.
So instead, I initiated to get close to her.
I always ask her why she doesn’t wear slippers because this might worsen her skin condition.
She then said that her slippers always get lost.
Until one day, I bought a pair for her. She was very grateful to me that she hugged me tight.
As weeks pass by, she then became clingy and talkative just like her siblings and cousin do.
I just so love them! They are one of the many reasons why I always go
back to their place to volunteer.
When the scholarship for Helping Land kids opened last April, I really pushed her through to be one of the 200 scholars. Luckily she got in and I’m so happy for her! Proud ate here!
For this feature, I’ve got to interview her and even went to their humble home where I’ve got to meet her entire family minus the father whose not around at that time.
They are seven siblings and she’s the fourth one.
She’s 10 years old and currently in Grade four.
Upon seeing their home, sadness filled my heart. At the back of my mind I am saying, “No! This can’t be a so called house.”
But what can I do? This is where they truly live.
A total of nine in the family living in a very not so big house and I myself didn’t even consider it as a house where children should really live.
This just really proved that families living in Helping Land totally belong to the most bottom level of poverty of our country.
But then even though they live there, I realized that their house can still be called “Home”.
Why?
Simply because despite of their very hard way of living, they are still intact and striving to have a good future someday. At the very least, they are not a broken family. They all aim together to have a better life.
I’ve also got to talk to her mom and she’s kind! She welcomed me to their home. Such a sweet hospitality!
My question and answer portion with Diana went like this:
“What’s your favorite subject,” I asked.
“Math!” She answered without any hesitant at all.
Yes, that’s the subject what she really said. And then I ask her why.
Most of the kids, with all honesty, hated Math so I was really curious why she likes it.
She answered, “Basta lang. Gusto ko lang po ng Math kahit mahirap.”
Then I suddenly realized that Dianna and I have something in common. We both love challenges! Although Math is really a hard subject, I even remembered she was asking me about the multiplication table because she’s having a hard time in that, she still likes the subject itself!
And her dream is to become a teacher someday. I also asked in what particular subject or grade school she wanted to teach and she answered me eagerly that it would be elementary level and still Math would be her specialization!
Oh well, hello there future Math teacher!
I am so excited and really looking forward with all my heart to see you reach your dreams!
As your Ate Diwata, I will always be here for you as long as I can.
Your hugs, stories, and kulitan moments to me are forever cherished.
Aim high, Dianna. I love you!
So, this is it!
This is her story, our story.
And we in Project Pearls hope to share more stories with you. Our PEARLS kids has a lot to tell to the world. At a very young age, they have got to encounter different life’s struggles already. But then, they wouldn’t give up easily and still continue to dream on and to have a better life in the nearest future.
Total salute to you kids!
We also hope to have more scholars and change their lives for the better. Of course this would be possible through your help. For just Php. 10,000.00, we can already send a child to school. And this amount is good for them for the whole year.
Sponsor a scholar now.
Change a life. Change yours. Just like mine.
Please e-mail Monica at [email protected] for more information.
By the way, Diana says Thank you for her sponsor! 🙂
