A young child becomes a household head and is now a licensed teacher
SAN JOSE, ANTIQUE – We come from different walks of life— others are born with a silver spoon, while others have a wooden path beneath their journey to adulthood. However, amidst the social stratifications, where you are born should never dictate who you become.
Here lies the story of Harry Espartero, a child filled with misery and hopelessness as he carries the reality and agonies of life at a young age.
Harry is the second child among the three siblings who was born in an unprivileged family. Their father, a drunkard, passed away when he was still a child while their mother, who suffered from mental illness, passed away when he was already in college. All the responsibilities were carried to him at a young age. He experienced the harsh realities of life within and outside of the walls of their home and the academe. Bullying became very evident to the extent that even his classmates, neighbors, and teachers did such without hesitations. Such downfall could have shattered the child’s dreams but it served as an eye-opener and a motivation to survive each day.
Growing up, they were financially challenged, given that they were on their own but, the resilience and their stand as holding onto a faint glimmer of hope amidst the darkness overpowered the hindrances to their dreams.
During his secondary, thoughts were overflowing as to how to support his studies. Considering the transportation, daily allowance, and other expenses, it was heavy, and it felt like a burden. He returned home with a heavy heart, without expecting to receive such good news that their family had been listed to be one of the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). This government initiative aimed to alleviate poverty and provided much-needed financial relief. Due to the child’s upbringing, he became the head of the household at the age of 18.
While 4Ps eased some of their financial burdens, challenges persisted, particularly with the large family to support. To ease the burden of their younger siblings, their eldest sister decided to seek employment in another city to fund her education while he stayed in their hometown to finish her secondary. With a daily allowance of 10 to 20 pesos, it barely covered transportation costs going to school and vice versa. Instead, he spent most of his time walking two kilometers from school to home or vice versa.
Some compassionate classmates extended assistance, while some even offered jobs as cleaners in one of their teachers’ houses. Through hard work and determination, the child managed to provide for himself, while maintaining a consistent position in Section 1 throughout high school.
One of Harry’s dreams is to enter and finish college. With this in mind, Harry put a lot of effort into preparing for college which he made day into night and night into day working as a helper and securing summer jobs. Finally, he enrolled in the College of Teacher Education while working as a helper in their boarding house to cover his expenses. After four years, he graduated with a degree in Secondary Education Majoring in Social Studies. After graduating, he didn’t hesitate to work in the provincial government of Antique.
Even though he didn’t enroll in a review center, he decided to take the board exam for teachers. With a dedication to becoming a teacher, he tried his best to self-study, and he passed the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers on March 17, 2024. Harry is still walking a long path, but he never dreamt that even in the darkest and thorniest paths he walked, he would survive. But, with the help of genuine people around him and government programs, he surely did. He now aspires to alleviate his family from poverty and help inspire the youth for community building as a newly licensed professional teacher.
The bottom line of the story is that, regardless of the circumstances, one has the power to change the course of his life and break free from the shackles of poverty. May Harry’s story will serve as an inspiration to many, especially to his fellow 4Ps beneficiaries. (Submitted by: San Jose MOO, Antique POO)
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