In the Mind of a Child
As the life of some Filipinos become harder, several solutions are being tried out by the family, especially the parents, to be able to pay the electric and water bills, to put food on the table, to meet the needs of every member, to make life as comfortable as possible, and to give their children the greatest treasure that they can give—education. Some parents would have multiple jobs, apply for work abroad, borrow money to relatives, and sadly, some engage in illegal transactions and commit crimes just for their family. Unfortunately, some children are being forced by their own parents to work but some children choose to work just to help out their parents. It is common in our society to hear about college students working as call center agents and fast food employees to be able to have money for their schooling expenses but who would think that this similar kind of thinking is already instilled in a 13 year old boy’s mind?
Jericho Castro, fondly called Kong by his family and friends, is a grade six pupil and at the same time, a magbobote. He is second among the five siblings and at the present, he and his mother, Reginaria “Naria” Castro who is a laundry woman, are the ones providing for their family after his father, a construction worker, died because of ulcer last January. Being a working student, Jericho admits that it’s hard for him to understand the lessons whenever he skips classes just to work but he never forgets to ask questions just to cope with what he missed. According to an interview with his mother, Naria, she’s happy that Jericho doesn’t waste his time and effort in working because he participates in school. She said that “’Pag umuuwi siya, tinitingnan ko kung may laman ‘yung mga notebook niya. Meron naman.” Jericho’s performance in school also reflects during recognition rites wherein he received awards like Best in Writing and Most Courteous however, all of his hard work in all the days that he attended school is not...
