PAGARAN (CDN PHOTO/ NINA SAYSON)
Despite her disability, a 43-year-old mother has endured separation from her family so that she could earn her keep in Cebu to help raise her brood of six and an ailing husband in Bohol.
Connie Pagaran decided to move to Cebu after her husband suffered a stroke two years ago and was paralyzed.
She now works as one of the blind masseuses offering their services to commuters waiting for their trips at the pier 3 passenger terminal at the Cebu port.
Her family members who are all in Bohol depend on her for their basic needs.
“Sa Bohol, nihit ang kita.. Usahay 50 pesos ra ang makita nako kada adlaw, nya unsaon man na nga siyam man mi kailangan mangaon” (In Bohol, my income is insufficient. Sometimes, I would only earn P50 and there are nine mouths to feed), Pagaran said.
Pagaran said she services at least five customers daily. She gets P75 for a quick massage and P150 for a full-body massage.
Pagaran’s husband used to be part of a band before he suffered a stroke.
Pagaran lives in a room in barangay Tinago and walks home every night from the pier.
Being able to provide for her family is the driving force that gets her through the loneliness and the challenges she’s facing.
Two of her children are in the elementary grades while three are in high school. One has just completed high school this year. She considers her children as her motivation to work hard everyday.
In fact, this year she wants to find more work to be able to send her eldest child to college.
She doesn’t consider her disability as a hindrance, however, she deems crossing the street, especially after work at night, as one of her biggest challenges.
Pagaran recounts the times where she narrowly escaped being hit by over-speeding motorists and considers herself lucky to have avoided accidents.
Pagaran said she hopes that she could save enough money and return home to be with her family in Bohol but for now she is content to just hear her children and husband’s voice when they speak over the cellphone.
“Lami unta kaayo ipa- uli sa amoa pero di man pwede kay kinahanglan man motrabaho kay inapas man ilang kailangan” (Even though I’d like to go home [for Mother’s Day], I can’t because I need to work for their needs), she said.
Despite her situation, she hasn’t given up on her dream to be reunited with her family. /by Niña Bianca Sayson, UP Intern