I heard my Aunt talking about the students in the mountains of Soliyao, an area in Pitogo,
Quezon, Philippines.
     She was telling us that the grades 1-3 shares only one classroom with one teacher. Grades
4-6, also in one room, one teacher. Nursery, separate room without ceiling,floor & wall finish.
     Some of the students cannot take their tests because they can't afford to buy one piece of
paper. They would walk 30 mintues to an hour from their faraway homes. Hearing this, it
seemed unimaginable to me especially that it is the first time I heard such a story. I wondered
how the teacher manages 3 sets of classes, 3 sets of lesson plan, in one day, in one room?
She must have been supergirl to be able to do the job.
     I wondered how a single piece of paper can be that hard to have for a child, while I can
throw sheets and sheets of A1 size in the office, only because my architectural drawings
didn't look that fine.
     There were also families whose houses were destroyed by a typhoon, all their belongings
swept by the sea. They would come to her house to beg for clothes. Well, its easy. I raided
all our closets and found so many old clothes that nobody bother to wear anymore. They were
sent to them.
     But the paper story just broke my heart. So I needed to do something. Off we went to
the mountains. We had to go through rough and bumpy terrains for a couple of hours to reach
the place. What a safari adventure.
     We were quite late past lunch time and the children were still waiting. We gave them
papers, erasers, sharpeners, crayons and some food.
     Later, the teacher told me that the children told her "Ma'am, we were hungry but when
we saw the gifts,  we forget that we are hungry".