KM Viray
For a child from a family with little or almost no money, all it takes is a little imagination and a little innovation to make toys they could only ever dream of owning. And imagination and innovation is something 11-year-old Jupel has in abundance.
Jupel hails from the Mangyan tribe from Baco, Oriental Mindoro. Baco is a lower class municipality in the province with no electricity nor any of the comforts many of us take for granted. Jupel is a member of the Mangyan tribe, which comprises 10% of the total population of the people who live in Mindoro.
A student at Casillon Elementary School, Jupel has to walk for at least 20 minutes to get to school. Sometimes, Jupel would have to make his trips barefoot because his family cannot afford to buy his a pair of slippers. On those rare occasions that they do manage to get him a pair, they easily get worn out.
So what is a boy to do? Make the best of it, of course. If his family couldn’t afford to buy him slippers, what more new toys? This is what inspired Jupel to make his own toys from the worn out slippers. Simply using sticks, Jupel was able to twist and curve and bend pieces of rubber and hold them with sticks to make toy vehicles such as jeepneys and tricycles. Jupel wishes such rides could be made available for students like him to make it easier to get to school, but since it wasn’t possible yet, he settled for living his dreams through his miniature creations.
Looking at the photos closely, it’s actually quite impressive how detailed and carefully proportioned the models are. For someone who is not usually exposed to such vehicles, it’s a wonder how Jupel was able to recreate the jeepneys and tricycles very beautifully.
Currently, Jupel is trying to create more toy vehicles he could sell and make money for his school. Yes, you read it right. Not for his family, but for his school. Jupel aims to aid in funding a comfort room for his school.
This young boy’s creativity, innovativeness, and selflessness is indeed very admirable. Discovered by Jery Cajapin of Indigenous PH, Jupel is one of the very many young children who deserve better means for education. For those interested in helping, you may contact 0916 627 3533 or send the group a message through their Facebook page.
Photos from Jeru Cajapin
