Rhelyn Harder
- An inspiring photo of a working student who goes to school during the day and working as a burger vendor at night went viral
- She was still wearing her school uniform because at that time she was in a hurry so she won’t be late for her shift
- Despite a lot of people who work so hard for a living, there are still corrupt government officials who have stolen billions of pesos
A Twitter user named @iskolarium posted an inspiring photo of a working student who goes to school during the day and works as a burger vendor at night.
Seeing her situation made him really sad, noting that education in the Philippines is a privilege which is not given to all.
Hindi ko alam kung ano mararamdaman ko. 😢
Masaya ako para kay ate, dahil lumalaban sya sa buhay at pinagpatuloy ang pagaaral. Pero at the same time, it makes me feel sad, dahil ang edukasyon sa Pilipinas ay isang pribilehiyo at hindi para sa lahat. 😢 pic.twitter.com/Z5Gu2KXqkD
— J👁️🗨️D (@iskolarium) July 9, 2019
After his workout at the gym around 2 a.m., he craved for a longganisa burger with egg so he headed to the Burger Machine branch where the girl works. He was lucky that the girl was still awake, sometimes he would see her sleeping most likely from exhaustion.
Nung isang gabi, around 2am. After ko mag-gym. Bumili ako kay ate kasi nag-crave ako ng longganisa burger w/ egg. Buti nga inabutan ko syang gising nun. Kasi, minsan, nakakatulog talaga sya sa upuan nya. 😢
Wala ako kaalam-alam na estudyante pala sya.
— J👁️🗨️D (@iskolarium) July 9, 2019
Sometimes she would be woken up by the noisy horns of passing vehicles. Though at first he wasn’t able to talk to her, this time he was able to ask her some questions.
Nung makita ko sya kanina, natutulog na sya actually. Malamang, pagod galing school. Nagising lang sya dahil sa ingay ng busina ng sasakyan.
Nung isang gabi, di ko nagawang makipagkwentuhan sa kanya. Pero ngayon, nilapitan ko sya…
— J👁️🗨️D (@iskolarium) July 9, 2019
He learned that she would go to school from 3 p.m until 9 p.m as a 1st-year student of BestLink in Novaliches. After her class, she would have her work shift from 9 p.m to 6 a.m at Burger Machine. As can be seen in the photo, she was still wearing her school uniform because at that time she was in a hurry so she won’t be late for her shift.
Nagmadali sya dahil ayaw daw nya makaltas yung oras sa ka-shift nya dahil magbabayad daw sya ng P54/hour.
She's earning P435/day.
Hindi man lang minimum. Walang night differential. Hindi ko din alam kung may SSS ba sila or PhilHealth etc.
— J👁️🗨️D (@iskolarium) July 9, 2019
If she’s late, she has to pay 54 pesos per hour and considering her total earnings for the day is only 435 pesos, that’s already a huge amount. @iskolarium also wondered if she was paying for benefits like SSS and Philhealth.
She said that she came from a broken family with five siblings and she has other siblings from her dad’s relationships with other women. He felt the hard work and sacrifices she made to pursue her studies when she became emotional during their talk. He knew it is hard to be a student, what more if she had to work to support her education and her family. This made him ask if, “sapat ba yung kikitain mo sa buong magdamag para sa pagsuporta sa sarili (at pamilya) mo?”
After learning her story, he was even more angry with news of corrupt government officials who have stolen billions of pesos from the country while some people struggle to make a living.
Nakakalungkot at nakakagalit isipin.
Na BILYON BILYON! Kaliwa't kanan ang mga lumalabas na balita na kinukurakot ng mga opisyal ng gobyerno.
Habang may mga taong naghihirap, nagsasakripisyo para kumita at patuloy na lumalaban sa buhay, para magkaron ng magandang kibabukasan.
— J👁️🗨️D (@iskolarium) July 9, 2019
He also said that the educational system here in the Philippines is very difficult because it is not fully supported by the government. Though some universities already offer free tuition, the school where she enrolled was not included in the program.
Ang hirap ng sistema ng eduskasyon sa Pilipinas.
Pero naging mas mahirap 'to, dahil hindi ito 100% na sinusuportahan ng gobyerno.
Mas gusto kasi nila ang mangmang at ignoranteng mamamayan dahil mas tinatangkilik sila nito.
Ayaw ng gobyerno sa Pilipinong nagiisip at matalino.
— J👁️🗨️D (@iskolarium) July 9, 2019
He hoped that her story would be an inspiration for those students who take their education for granted even if they were given the opportunity to study with the support of their parents.
Maging inspirasyon din sana si ate para sa lahat ng estudyante na ayaw nang mag-aral.
Ayaw na dahil hindi bago ang gamit sa school, tinatamad pumasok, mas gusto kasama ang barkada, gusto ng mas malaking baon, at kung ano ano pang mababaw na dahilan.
— J👁️🗨️D (@iskolarium) July 9, 2019
He was so grateful that he had met her which made him reminded the importance of education, having a good job to earn money, and made him realized how blessed he was.
