Learning the ABCs at 53

Manila, Philippines -  Adelina is very proud of her achievement: she’s able to go to school and learn how to read and write at her age of 53.

“I am so happy that even at this very old age, I am still able to go to school and learn what I should have learned more than 40 years ago. My involvement with Pantawid Pamilya has been one of the reasons why I am persuaded to go to school. The Municipal Link Officer or the MLO has encouraged us that nobody is too old to learn,” Adelina Rivas of Mrihatag, Surigao del Sur said in her local dialect.

“My mother didn’t encourage us to go to school because she wanted us to help her plant sweet potatoes in the far),” she added.

Adelina recalled how much she envied her neighbors and playmates who attended school when they were young. “Our neighbors’ children would go to school together. As for me, instead of going to school I ended up working in the farm.”

One day, she just realized that she had already lost interest in studying and going to school.

“I did not finish grade one, “she said, covering her face to hide her tears. “I cannot even write my own name, I am not even familiar with the letters in the alphabet”

Her experience has not stopped Adelina and her husband Adconico to work hard in order to send their eight children to school and hopefully have them finish even only high school.

In 2009, Adelina’s family became a beneficiary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, wherein they receive monthly cash grants as long as they comply with health and education conditions. One of the conditions set by the program is their attendance in the monthly Family Development Session (FDS). where they are taught to become effective and responsible parents. Her attendance at the FDS could only be verified through the attendance logbook, which she and the other beneficiaries have to sign.

“When I knew that we have to register and sign the logbook I got worried because I don’t know how to write my name. The MLO asked me to put my thumb mark instead,” Adelina said.

She added that every time she gets her cash grants in the bank through over-the-counter payment, she noticed that the other grantees were using pens to sign the acknowledgment form, and she’s the only one asking for a stamp pad for her thumb mark.

“Because of that, I realized I had to help myself, I must learn how to write my name and read all those papers that I already signed or will sign in the future,” she said.

Last December, armed with determination coupled with the willingness to learn, Adelina enrolled in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) in their barangay, conducted once in a week. “We are all mothers in the class,” Adelina proudly said.

She related that it was difficult at first, as she had to learn the strokes in writing and identify and memorize all the letters in the alphabet. Their first assignment was to form the letters in the alphabet using a rattan stick. “I was confused at first because I sometimes forgot the letters in the alphabet, good thing my children are there, they helped me in my assignments), recalled Adelina.

Within a few months, Adelina has learned to write her name, even in cursive script. She has also started to learn how to read and solve math problems.

Adelina realized how important education is, and that learning is still fun even at 53. “I am not ashamed of going to school and learning the alphabet at my age. School is not only for the young. It’s also for older ones who want to learn.”