Daniella Narboada, 12, a valedictorian of Cambinocot Elementary School, shows her medal recognizing her as one of the Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Academic Excellence awardees.
(CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)
Hardships are no hindrance to these girl awardees
Poverty is no hindrance to these two 12-year-old student-achievers, who were recognized together with 278 other student-achievers by the Cebu City government and the Department of Education, for their academic excellence.
Daniella Narboada finished her elementary education as the valedictorian of Cambinocot Elementary School, while Shamaica Faith Perocho is also this year’s valedictorian of Manggabon Elementary School.
Both 12-year olds live in the mountain barangays of Cebu City and are consistent achievers in their schools despite the hardships they face.
On April 9, Sunday, both achievers were also recognized by the Cebu City government for their achievements.
Both students were among the 280 recipients of the 28th Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Academic Excellence Award.
The award is given yearly for all class valedictorians in high school and elementary levels for public and private schools in Cebu City.
Narboada was happy when she received the recognition as she recalled how she worked hard to top the class.
Narboada is a consistent first honor student since grade one. For high school, she plans to study at Vicente Cosido Memorial National High School.
The 12-year-old girl recalled that she only received P15 every day as her ‘baon’. But she did not mind the small amount as long as she was able to go to school.
Narboada spent P6 for the biscuit and sometimes bought P5 lumpiang togue or vegetable soup (utan bisaya) for lunch.
“Sometimes I don’t buy during snacks kay para makapalit ko og notebook or ubang gamit sa school,” she said.
Narboada is the fourth of five children of Josephine and Danilo. They live in Barangay Cambinocot, one of the mountain barangays of Cebu City.
On weekends, Narboada would help her 53-year-old father selling vegetables at the Carbon Public Market in Cebu City.
This was her way of helping her family as selling vegetables is their main source of income that funds her elementary education at Cambinocot Elementary School.
“Motabang ko og baligya sa mga utanon. Kung walay customer, magtuon ko. Naa man koy notes ibutang pirmi sa akong bag (I help in selling the vegetables. If there are no customers around then I can study. I always place my notes inside my bag),” she said.
In early April, she graduated as the class valedictorian and received special awards like Best in Math, Best in Araling Panlipunan and Best in English.
Her secret to being an achiever: she “listened to her teachers very well.”
Small but terrible
For 12-year-old Shamaica Kate Perocho, she needed to walk more than one hour and thirty minutes every school day from their house in Barangay Lusaran to Manggabon Elementary School.
Their school is one of the farthest schools from Cebu City.
Shamaica Faith Perocho, one of the awardees for academic excellence (center), says she walks for more than an hour to go to school every day.
Perocho had no choice but to walk because the P40 round-trip fare for “habal-habal” (motorcycle-for-hire) is expensive.
When it rained, it might be difficult for her, but the big banana leaves would serve as her umbrella while walking to school.
Her parents, Regla, 40, and Rosalito, 42, work in a water refilling station in Lapu-Lapu City. She is the third of five children.
But their income is not enough since they are raising five children who are all attending school.
But poverty did stop Perocho in going to school.
In fact, she was not just an ordinary graduate last week.
Perocho was the class valedictorian who also received special awards for Best in Math and Best in Filipino.
Perocho was also one of the recipients of the 28th Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Excellence Awards.
Standing 4’0″ in height, Perocho happily received the gold medal last Sunday at New White Gold House.
When asked how she survived elementary education, she answered, “I just listen to my teachers. I understand the lessons too.”
Since her parents were usually in Lapu-Lapu City, she lives with her grandmother.