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Adapted from the REEL TIME documentary MUNTING PANULAT
Produced for the web by MARGARET CLAIRE LAYUG
May 23, 2019
Students in Santa Rita, Western Samar make the best of what they have.
“I don’t have a schoolbag because we don’t have any money,” he says. He had a schoolbag before, but he gave it to his younger sister. There is some advantage to having the plastic bag instead: the notebook and the pad of paper would remain dry even when it rained.
Along with his siblings, he makes the journey to the classroom in his slippers. Union Elementary School, in Santa Rita, Western Samar, is three kilometers away, a long walk for his eight-year-old feet.
At dinner, John Mark would sit with his siblings in a circle on a wooden bed. They would finish the meal of instant noodles and rice before it got dark.
John Mark understands why his mother isn’t there. “Mama, she’s working in Manila to make money,” he says.
His father has been out of the picture for as long as John Mark could remember. His mother Mylene had worked as a laundrywoman, but it did not pay enough, so she tried her luck in Manila, leaving the kids with their grandmother, Lola Salvacion. Since finding work as a house helper, Mylene has been back to Santa Rita only once.
The money she would send home from time to time — P1,000, sometimes P1,500 when things are good — is not enough for her kids. Even as a child, John Mark knows the plight of his family all too well.
“He’s very thrifty,” Lola Salvacion says, “because he knows his mother does not make much money,”
When his grandmother would buy a new pencil, John Mark would cut it into three small pieces. He would sharpen each one and use it until he couldn’t anymore.
For students from peasant families, staying in school could be a challenge.
At school, John Mark is far from the only boy who uses a tiny pencil.
“They all value their things, especially their pencils,” says Maricor Baculanta, John Mark’s teacher. She noticed that the kids would use their whittled pencils for as long as they are able to keep them in their grasps.
A similar episode involving Jan Kim Enario, another student, went viral online. Jan had found a broken pen on the ground, and seeing the ink tube still worked, attached it to a stick of wood.
Teacher Maricor posted a photo of Jan Kim’s clever writing contraption, which spread on social media.
Most of the kids at Union Elementary School are the children of farmers. The ratio of 220 students and just seven teachers is already far from ideal, but the circumstances of their lives make staying in school a challenge for the kids.
Some students need to cross rivers to get to school; when it rains and it becomes too dangerous to cross, they simply don’t make it to class.
“During harvest season, some kids don’t go to class anymore because they’d help out their parents with the work,” Maricor says.
Jan Kim Enario went viral for his creation of a clever writing contraption.
Another boy in John Mark’s class, Rey Dumaging, dreams of becoming a fireman someday.
Teacher Maricor describes Rey as hardworking and smart, and he ranked fourth in the class during the last grading period.
Rey’s father used to farm vegetables but had to stop after experiencing a pain in his leg. They brought him to a healer and to a hospital, but they could not find what was wrong with him.
Because his father could not work, Rey would join his uncle during harvest so he could buy a new pair of shoes for school.
“I’m proud of Rey because he studies hard, even though life is hard,” his mother says.
Like Rey, John Mark has taken to working at a young age to help out his family. Whenever he’s not at school, John Mark would join his grandmother on a two-hour trek up the mountain to a small patch where they grow crops.
While Lola Salvacion does her work, the little boy would begin to chop wood using a full-size bolo knife. It’s hard work for a grown man, let alone an eight-year-old child. After harvest, John Mark would carry the wood in a heavy basket on his back.
“I want to have school supplies — notebooks, pencils, papers,” he says.
The challenges that kids like John Mark and Rey face are not rare in rural Philippines.
According to the Multidimensional Poverty Index of the Philippine Statistics Authority, Filipino families are most deprived in education, with five out of 10 families in 2017 having at least one member 18 years old and above who did not complete basic education.
Problems in the family, lack of interest, and the high cost of education were most often cited as reasons for dropping out of school.
Treesha Mae Pariente is a consistent achiever at school.
Teacher Maricor is amazed at the dedication of kids like John Mark to stay in school at an early age.
“Even if he lacks supplies, or he doesn’t have food, or sometimes he wouldn’t have slippers on when he goes to school, you’d never see him taking it easy. He’s always happy as long as he’s able to go to school,” Maricor says.
She still remembers a class activity where the children were asked to draw their dream in life.
“John Mark drew a picture of his family. He said he wanted them to be together again. He started crying while he was talking about his drawing,” says Maricor, who could not help but be moved to tears herself while telling the story.
The boy is moving up from second grade with several accolades, including awards for Best in Art and Determined Kids.
When it comes to academics, John Mark does not have to look far for inspiration. His sister Treesha Mae is a consistent achiever and is graduating from elementary with an award. As always, their aunt Maribel will pin Treesha Mae’s award, with their mother in Manila and their grandmother working the fields.
Mylene Pariente had wanted to go home for her kids' graduation, but decided against it.
Already, Treesha Mae is thinking about college. She wants to become a teacher one day.
John Mark, for his part, is aiming higher: he dreams of being a doctor.
“I don’t know if we can afford that,” Lola Salvacion says with a chuckle.
Meanwhile, it was a bittersweet morning for Mylene, who was stuck in Manila miles away from her kids.
“I wanted to go home but decided against it. Instead of paying fare, I’d rather just send them the cash since they all had awards,” she says.
“But I’m very happy because even though I’m so far away, I get to see the results of their studies.”
Instead, Mylene settles for a grainy video of her kids. “Here’s my award, and here’s Ate’s,” one of her kids says. It is enough to reduce Mylene to tears.
“It’s hard, but I have to be strong because I work for them,” she says. “I always tell them to study hard because I need to work for them. Because if I don’t, what would happen to them?”
Another treat for Mylene: handwritten letters from her kids, written using the same tiny pencils they use at school.
Dear Mama, please come home because we miss you — Inday, Kika, Ate, and I. We all love you so much. I love you. From John Mark.
Dear Mama, I hope you come home because your kids miss you. I love you. From Treesha.
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