Rhelyn Harder
- Repairing shoes is not a steady income to sustain the family needs
- Every time they were not given enough money for their allowance and fare, they go to the repair shop of their family friend to repair shoes
Two siblings from Puerto Princessa City impressed netizens after photos of them doing shoe repairs along the sidewalk of Valencia Street after class were uploaded to social media.
These are the two out of four children of Emmanuel and Mary Ann Borbon namely Manuelita Borbon, 13 years old, Grade 8 and Micko Borbon, 12 years old, Grade 7 of Palawan National School.
The family lives in a small house on Wescom Road in Barangay San Pedro. It is also the place where the family repairs shoes which is their primary source of income.
The mother admitted that their life is difficult and they don’t have their own house. Repairing shoes also does not offer a steady income to sustain the family’s needs.
“Mangungutang ka sa iba para mayroon silang pamasahe, pagkain. Syempre sa maghapon kasi pag halimbawa may nagpatahi sa amin, ‘di nila tinubos. Sa maghapon minsan P300 bubudgetin mo yun, kasi ilan sila. Mayroon pa akong estudyante diyan,” she said.
The mother also does laundry to augment the family’s income.
“Gusto nila makapagtapos. Tapos, gusto ko sila magkaroon ng hanapbuhay na hindi lang ba yung, hindi nila maranasan yung ano namin (kahirapan),” she said.
She gives her children an allowance for school and their fare, but sometimes she only has enough for their fare.
Every time they were not given enough money for their allowance and fare, the siblings go to the repair shop of their family friend Ruel Gines on Valencia Street near their school.
“Nagkulang ang pamasahe namin. Kaya naisipan namin makitahi doon.” Micko said.
Manuelita also said that they don’t usually go to Gines’s place to repair shoes, only if they need money for their projects.
Gines is very proud of them because they have the skill to repair shoes which they use to help out.
“Pero actually, proud ako sa mga batang ‘yan kasi nagkaroon sila ng skills about sa pagtatahi. Dahil yung pangangailangan nila sa school nila, pwede nilang gamitin yun para matustusan even siguro sa baon nila,” Gines said.
Their parents never taught them to repair shoes but they learned the skills by watching their parents do.
Palawan National High School was so impressed by the Borbon siblings that the school principal, Dr. Eduardo Santos, said that they could be given an award of recognition.
“At baka may maitulong pa tayo doon sa sitwasyon nila. Ma-inspire sila na lalong mag-aral kasi bibihira na ganiyan ang mga estudyante na doon kukuha ng pambaon. Alam nilang mahirap ang buhay pero nandun sila,” he said.
The siblings are not ashamed that they repair shoes as they hope that their story would become an inspiration to other students that poverty is not a reason for not going to school and not helping their parents.
Manuelita and Micko dream of becoming soldiers someday.
