Send Vulnerable Filipino Children to School

Nothing miraculous where a young lady, christened Miracle Joy by her parents, is now in her life, a newly-minted civil engineer at 22 from the most recent results released by the Philippine Board of Civil Engineering on April 26, 2024. She followed the path of hard work and determination, with a self-imposed rigid study regimen that she herself called ‘brutal’, pausing only to moderate it from time to time when the tough progressed to rough.

Admitted to the FPVI Program in 2018, Miracle was recommended by her teachers on account of her academic achievements and her determination to finish secondary education amid the struggles of her family. The 4th of 7 siblings whose parents relied on unpredictable seasonal agricultural work, Miracle’s chances of completing high school was compromised by the competing financial demands of her other siblings. But it wasn’t so much her academic record as her determination to finish high school that made her a good candidate to be part of the FPVI family. That she would continue on to college with a government scholarship and continued support from FPVI was a bonus that she never took for granted.

Miracle’s time at FPVI did not only afford her the opportunity to complete her senior high school and college education but, to her own admission, afforded her personal development where she honed her creative skills, learned to be part of a team, and served as a mentor to younger members. It is heartening to observe a painfully shy girl blossom into a self-assured young lady, mixing paint colors, holding a paintbrush confidently and filling a canvas with such bold strokes in a composition all her own. It was exhilarating to see her drill the younger ones at FPVI with math formulas and guide them to find solutions to math problems with such earnestness and passion. This she did on a regular basis when her time allowed.

Miracle insists that it wasn’t only her disciplined path that got her to where she is now.  She puts faith in prayers and believes that God has put her exactly where she needs to be. That there isn’t a need for anxiety for what she thinks are her failures and missed opportunities. She refreshes her mindset continually to focus on opportunities yet to come, not the ones she thinks she missed. For us, her FPVI family, there is no greater pride in knowing that we have helped to nurture a confident young lady who is poised to make a difference in her community and the lives she will touch.