I have a strong passion for child development, growing up without parents myself. My father committed suicide when I was 5, and my mother left me and my brother soon after to begin her new life. My father’s relatives have been taking careof us since then, but in our province, one of the poorest in the country, life is a struggle, and the priority is survival, not education or moral guidance. Even children with parents are left with their grandparents who could give them a little more than food and shelter, while their parents are going to the big city to find jobs. It takes a lot of strength and self-discipline to stay in school, so I consider myself very lucky to be able to enroll in a local university, and intend to make the most out of it while sharing my fortune to those younger and less fortunate, in the hope that they will keep up their interest in education and their hope for better lives.
My advisor gave me the first opportunity to give back to my community by offering me a part-time job teaching local children, and I have learned first-hand their needs for education and life skills. I saw that I could give them more than what was in a classroom book, drawing from my life experience. I encourage them to attend a free English class offered at a local church, despite a different religious belief, because English language can open more doors for poor children when we becomes part of the ASEAN Economic Community. Besides, I teach them by example the values of courage, self-discipline, hard work, and patience. These life skills, along with education, I believe, are the key to a better life and a sustainable community.It is my goal to become an English teacher in my hometown, and to inspire them that the lacks of money and loving family do not necessarily mean the lack of education opportunity. The pay might not be much, but I look at it as a way to give back to the community, and to help prepare our children for the future. By educating these children, I may be able to prevent another suicide, another broken family, and less children would have to go through a tough, risky childhood like I did.