CEBU, Philippines - A 26-year-old person with disability is a step closer to achieving her dreams of getting a college diploma.
Helen Grace Zoilo was among the 734 applicants who got scholarship grant from the Cebu provincial government. There were a total of 1,377 applicants.
Zoilo travelled more than five hours from his hometown in San Francisco town in Camotes Islands, northern Cebu to get to the Capitol for yesterday’s recognition.
Zoilo and 733 others received their certificates of guarantee that would serve as their key in enrolling in their desired state colleges and universities.
Zoilo said she wants to pursue her degree in Bachelor of Sciences in Industrial Technology at Cebu Technological University-San Francisco Campus.
Despite her physical limitation, there is no stopping Zoilo, an incoming sophomore student, from achieving her dream of getting a college diploma.
Zoilo has myelomeningo-coele condition, also known as spina bifida cystica, a complex congenital spinal anomaly that results in spinal cord malformation (myelodysplasia). A medical study showed that it is one of the commonest congenital central nervous system (CNS) anomalies and thought to occur in approximately 1:500 of live births.
This left her paralyzed from the waist down. She couldn’t stand or walk without support.
Zoilo said she wants to give her family a good life notwithstanding her condition. She is the lone child of a former overseas Filipino worker and a retired public school teacher.
“Sa una ni-stop ko ato, wala pa ko mahuman sa elementary tungod sa disability, nya hangtod ato nag stay na lang ko ato sa balay, tinda-tinda ginagmay during my teenage days. Kadugayan ato nakaingoin ko nga dili gyud dapat nga diri ra ko kutob, aduna pa ko’y paglaum nga ma-improve pa akong kinabuhi,” she said.
She said she has been praying that she would be among the province's scholars to help ease her parents' financial burden.
“Maayo na lang ba makatabang sa expenses sa skwelahan kay gawas sa akong sitwasyon, ang akong parents mga tigulang na gyud sila nya masakiton pa gyud. Namasin ko nga madawat,” she said.
Governor Hilario Davide III said he felt elated to see the eagerness of the applicants to pursue their studies.
“Make a difference. Wala na siguro mi mas maanindot nga ikabilin kaninyo mga scholars kaysa sa maayong edukasyon. Bisan unsa pa kadaghan nga mga imprastraktura nga among gitukod, wala nay mas malig-on pa sa edukado na tawo,” he said.
“Ayaw ninyo isipa nga ang mga kalisdanan nga inyong masinati babag sa pagtapos sa inyong mga pangandoy. Do not allow past experiences to stop you from believing that a much better future awaits you. Use that to strive hard. (I’ll) pray that you would be who you want to be. You are in control of your own success and failures,” he added.
Vice Governor Agnes Magpale echoed the governor’s statement.
“Ang tinguha natong tanan, palambuon ang atong pinalanggang sugbo. Ang kakabos dili gayud nato tugutan nga mubabag sa pagkab-ot sa atong mga damgo. Ang edukasyon ang labing mahinungdanon nga instrument pag-umol sa mga kabatan-onan nga mahimong responsible ug mapuslanon nga sakop sa katilingban ug aron usab mapataas ug mapalambo ang atong mga kahimtang,” she said.
Magpale earlier said that those who will not be accepted this year could still reapply next year.
The Paglaum scholarship program provides P10,000 tuition and payment of miscellaneous fees as well as P1,500 subsistence allowance to handicapped, marginalized, and poor students. Among the program's beneficiaries are children of drug surrenderers and dysfunctional families.
The province has set aside P10 million budget for this year’s scholarship program. —Diana Rose H. Ompad and Dulcelyn T. Insong (FREEMAN)