The Not-So-Green Archers

I spent my Thursday afternoon 'til evening looking for prospective high school scholars from De La Salle- Adult Nigh High School in Green Hills. To us, it is a new road to take on since for almost a decade now, we only support college students.

Overview

DLS-ANHS is not the main school for teenage Green Archers. It is the education facility for the underprivileged who were not able to attain secondary education. Hence, most of them are way past their teenage years.

School starts at 3:00 P.M. and ends by 9:30 P.M. Students take up the usual high school subjects complete with technical- vocational skills.

If a student is enrolled in ANHS since his first year, he will then be receiving Php 500.00 monthly for the rest of his stay in the institution. This allowance is from the government. Meanwhile, enrollees have to pay for an estimate of Php 300.00 for their tuition fees.

The Encounter

Upon completion of their application forms and exams, Sir Mike and I were excited to get to know them. 

Among the remarkable students that night was a former personal assistant of a sexy star turned notable character actress. During his stint as her assistant, he is succumbed to pot sessions as per invitation of this actress.

Next to him is a kidney transplant patient who utterly hates his older sister because of her wrongdoings. As per my boss, science proves that persons who have gone through kidney transplants are likely to suffer from schizophrenia- a mental disorder manifested by breakdown of thought processes and poor emotional responsiveness.  Basing on what I saw and what he told us, this guy has anger management issues. I hope he does not develop into a full blown schizo, though.

We also had one student who tried his luck in Mandaluyong all the way from Bulacan, only to find his father who, to his surprise is a regular in-and-out inmate for drug trafficking. He used to live with his stepmother who almost killed him. He escaped and struggled in the streets and in orphanages until DLS Center for Street Children taught him.

For the girls, most of them are house maids/ house helpers. Luckily, all of their employers are very supportive of their studies. One said that she needs a scholarship because "ayaw ko naman maging katulong habambuhay;" tear- jerking words from someone who aspires to change her course in life. 

Meanwhile, when I asked a single mother-of-three why she doesn't want to change anything in her life, her quick reply is "kasi po nagbago na 'ko".She is from Cagayan Valley; had 2 kids from her late partner and 1 kid from a married man working in San Miguel. Mind you- his recent partner has two other families. 

I would also like to single out this 32- year old staff worker who wants to take up Accountancy in college. Our concern is mainly the mismatch in his interest vis-a-vis his competence. As much as we wanted to help him, we do not see him as a very good educational and business investment. We are however happy that his kins are proud of him because next year, he will be graduating from High School.

After a grueling six hours of work, I struggled to contain my emotions and I felt so grateful that at age 19, I finished college with honors without having so much trouble to deal with, financially-speaking. (Oh, thank you public school system!) These students have been street children, house maids, bagger, staff, masseuse, etc. yet they know the value of education and as elusive as it may seem, they continue looking for ways to achieve it. In the hope that one day, they too, could be successful.

I hope that in small ways, I could help change their lives. My epiphany: if a person has a school to study to, he is considered a pupil. But if a person has a dream to prepare for, he then becomes a student.