Fifteen-year-old Ella Jane Montecillo had to stop attending school for one year to help her mother sell ukay-ukay (used) maong shorts.
As she returns to school this year, she looks at other teenagers who take their education for granted.
“Ang eskwela nila, ila untang tarongon kay kahibaw man sila unsa kalisod ang trabaho sa ilang mama or unya unsa sab kakapoy ba unya kon dili sila moeskwela, sayang kaayo (They should do good in class because their parents work hard to send them to school. It would be such a waste if they don’t go to school),” she said.
To students who are planning to drop out, she said they should think twice.
“There’s a greater chance of finding a good job and getting better pay if you finish school. Having an education will give you a brighter future,” she added in Cebuano.
Montecillo was the sixth honorable mention and Best in Mathematics awardee when she graduated from elementary. She is now in Grade 9 at the Don Gerardo Ouano Memorial National High School in Mandaue City.
She should have been in Grade 10, but she stopped for a year to help put food on the table and allow her four younger siblings to continue attending their classes.
She has no regrets, she said.
From 2 p.m to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 12 noon to 7 p.m. on weekends, Montecillo joined her mother in selling ukay-ukay on the sidewalk of barangay Guizo, Mandaue City.
She said they earned an average of P1,500 a day. But their take-home earnings was only P300 because they had to pay their supplier.
She said P300 was already a big help since they had to buy medicine for a younger sister who got sick with pneumonia.
Her father, a fast-food chain security guard, does not earn enough for the family.
Montecillo said her classmates the other year may have left her behind, but she is glad that she has learned the value of education and how to be a responsible “ate” (older sister).