The remote coastal village of Buntod in Capiz is awash with crabs, shellfish and all kinds of fish. Amidst this abundance, people still live in poverty.
Marlon wants to become a doctor someday |
Perhaps its because the fish pens are all owned by an affluent few, or because most adults here are illiterate and accept their fate.
For eleven-year-old Marlon, sponsorship in his community could mean an end to living in poverty. He is now in grade five at Buntod Elementary School. Shyly but firmly, he shares his dream of becoming a doctor some day “to be able to take care of my family."
The youngest in a family of five, Marlon holds the last torch of hope for them. His siblings Marivic, Marites, Marvi and Bernie did not complete school. Asked why, he explains: “We did not have the money for school”.
He is glad he is a World Vision sponsored child. “I study hard and help my parents,” he says.
His 44-year old father Victor is a fisherman while mother Marilen, 46, tends the house and helps sell his father’s daily catch.
“There is never enough food for all of us, that is why my older sisters have to work and help.”
Marivic, Marites and Marvi work as house-helps while Bernie assists his father.
“I thank my sponsor Harold Jungheim for sponsoring me, especially my studies,” says Marlon, showing a picture of Harold and his family. An honor student, his favorite subjects are English, Mathematics and Filipino.
Every day, Marlon, together with his classmates, walks to school beside the glistening fish-pens and wonders if it really is possible to dream of a better life. Thanks to World Vision's sponsorship programme, he's starting to believe that it is.
