Alay Buhay Community Development Worker
Barangay Pintong Bukawe, San Mateo , Rizal

I come from a poor family, and being the eldest of four children, responsibilities and duties, both in life and work around our household which my parents could no longer do became mine to do. From taking care of the three younger children, to doing the marketing, housecleaning, even up to earning a living and helping my mother and father.

My father hails from Isabela while my mother is form Vigan, Ilocos Sur. My mother and her father, together with his two (2) siblings decided to re-locate to Manila for fear of death in the place of their birth. Their family is a victim of the bloody violence during the Marcos regime. My mother's mother (my grandmother) and her older sister (my aunt) died in a massacre and my mother was lucky to have escaped it. Because of this they decided to flee from the place.

My father was brought by my grandfather to Montalban, because they are farmers and they have land that they are tilling. This land is now owned by my cousins since the death of my grandfather (my father's father). My mother's family, on the other hand, moved to Montalban as it was difficult to find a job in the City. This is where they met and married. My father's work is to take care of the ( local ) lime bushes while my mother works in a bakery from where we would derive our means of living. Due to the smallness of their income, which was not enough to meet our family's needs, it was necessary that we also work at a very young age to be able to help them.

At the age of six (6), my mind was opened to early work by helping my parents in manual quarry ( chipping off stones from the mountain's face with small pick-axes ) so that I may be able to contribute, even in a small way, to the family living expenses .

I have witnessed how hard it is to live without sufficient means of living and being a child, I went along with all the other children at work in the quarry site. For me, I just thought of it all as play, forcing myself to laugh and be happy. Not once did I mind the heat of the sun searing through our skin and the heaviness of the workload that was upon us. I did not experience the normal life of a child, one who was free to play anytime, or be able to take afternoon naps for rest, or be able to buy toys or anything a child would want.

Manual quarrying caused the life and death or our innocence. Life, because it served as an instrument to set us up through to school, the only answer to the financial problems of the family; it also served as an instrument to open our eyes to accept and face the reality of the world, of real kinds of people together with the pains and joys that they bring. Death, by means of keeping from us, withholding from us, our rights as children.

Despite this, I tried hard to remain calm and chose to be steadfast in my determination to finish my studies despite extreme material lack and in financial aspects of life. I was able to take my elementary education through the small earning of my father and mother as well as through my own earnings from quarrying rocks. Through hard work and perseverance in my studies, I was in the Star section and when I finished with my elementary studies, I was chosen as a scholar of the Barangay where we lived until I finished High School.

Through hard work and perseverance and faith in our God, I was able to finish my studies in high school. I also thought that that would be the end of my dreams. I know that it is not a coincidence that the UP students and the Community Organizers Multidiversity (COM) chose to do their immersion activity in our area. In my heart and in my mind, I know that this was His chosen instrument to enable me to continue in my aspirations to finish my studies so that the circumstances of my family may be improved. Through the help of Christopher Magno, a scholar of the Kristong Hari Foundation Incorporated (Ateneo de Manila University through Fr. Joel E. Tabora, SJ. - ADMU-President), I passed and made it as one of the scholars of the Foundation. One of the counterpart responsibilities of a scholar is to write (photographer, contributor cum article writer) for the publication chosen for the urban poor - TAMBULI. The contribution from the Community Organizers (CO) of COM was significant in making us aware of our rights and needs as children.

Before I finished my college studies, I decided to try and do an OJT (on-the-job Training) with the COM office. When I finished the OJT, I trained for 9 months - Community Organizer Training. I realized and learned a lot of things. In my reflection, I learned and I saw that I was not the only one with a poor family, that I was not the only one who may not have been able to go to school, who failed to eat on time, and who experienced sleeping in a cart, in the street, in the alleyways and under the bridge. Working in COM helped me a lot because this is where I saw the reality of life.

After the nine (9) months of training at COM, I was fortunate to have been accepted as a Community Development Worker in Alay Buhay and I did not think twice because the place where I had come from would be the place where I would serve.

Right now, I can say that I am in fact fortunate and I achieved my small dream. I am happy working and helping to educate people; I am happy to be able to impart what I have learned with them. I still want to learn many more things, at the same time that the people in the community are learning. And most of all, I am happy that I can see the fulfillment of my dreams because I am able to help my family financially in a substantial way, in my being a stable and responsible person. Added to this is the ability to be able to serve in my area (Barangay San Rafael) which witnessed and was part of my childhood. The bits of wishes and dreams has been made whole through my perseverance, through the people who helped and trusted me and most especially, my parents who supported and played a big part in my life.

Convenience Store and Food Vendor
Center: Maria
Loan Officer: Yolly Fuentes

In the year 1993, I arrived from Singapore where I worked as a baby sitter for six (6) years. On my return, I started a small business selling fried quail eggs and tapioca drinks. In 1999, I heard about Alay Buhay Microfinance and I attended a seminar and I passed. This was supposed to be help for additional school allowance for those in the Educational Assistance of Alay

Buhay and at that time, I had a scholar of Alay Buhay who is now a graduate from a Computer Technician Course from Samson Technological College .

I was also able to obtain an Asset Loan for my new refrigerator and since then I have been able to sell cold drinks aside from the bread and finger foods that became added to my wares. In truth, I started with a loan of two thousand pesos (P2, 000) which slowly increased until it reached fifty thousand pesos (P50, 000) and through which I was able to have my daughter's house fixed as well as the three rooms which I rent out and which generate a monthly rental of four thousand pesos (P4, 000). I was also able to buy two (2) tricycles in Bulacan which my brother plies and which earns six thousand pesos (P6, 000) a month. I also earn money from selling breakfast, snacks, having a convenience store, selling toys from Divisoria and slippers.

Sometimes, I also dream of having a computer and a Xerox (photocopying) machine and maybe someday this will happen. But most of all, all my children have graduated from college. My eldest daughter graduated with a degree in Commerce major in Accounting, my eldest son, graduated as a Computer Technician and my youngest son graduated as a Radio and TV Technician. I have also paid for the lot on which my house stands, 24 sqm with a price of thirty five thousand pesos (P35, 000) on October 2, 2006 . I have made improvements on my house even more this time with the help of Gawad Kalinga.

Now, I am very happy and thankful to God for the graces that He has given me. I am also thankful to Mr. Stephen Tindall and to all the people behind Alay Buhay. The kind people who helped us to renew ourselves and had a good life and for our success. All I owe to you for helping us. You can be proud of this as a Filipino. Thank you to you all. It will be up to God to repay you for your kindness. Thank you very much.

Respectfully,
Partner Susan S. Morada