15 years old, Diana stopped studying to work in a bake shop in the city so she could earn money to help her family. 

Now at 50, Diana is settled in her hometown and owns a bake shop, several businesses, and sugar cane fields.

Diana Acson grew up in the province of Inapoy, Negros Occidental. She is the eldest of 13 siblings. Her father was a farmer, working all day in rice fields, and her mom was at home taking care of them. 

Diana and her younger siblings would always help their father in the rice field, and do household chores. As the eldest, she is in charge of doing almost all the chores in their houses like cooking and chopping wood for them to use.  As the source of water is far from their house, they struggle to fetch water down the streams and rivers it is because they live on a top of a hill. Walking miles and miles just to go to school with an empty stomach. 

But despite all the hard work of their father, with the little amount of money he earns a day, all of them are not able to go to school, food is inadequate for all of them, and their mother tends to be physically abusive. 

Every day was hard for all of them. Being the eldest, Diana decided to stop her studies and go to the city to temporary life with her aunt and take care of her cousins. 

 

Poverty affects education

As of 2018, a quarter of the 105 million Philippine population lived in poverty, that is, over 26 million people. Through various anti-poverty programs, such as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform, and the Social Reform Agenda, the Philippines has been through a long battle to improve those statistics.

Despite these governmental efforts, the race on how poverty affects education in the Philippines and reduces illiteracy in the Philippines has been a slow process. 

The majority of parents in the Philippines who are unable to provide for their children’s requirements financially sometimes force them to work in factories or on the streets. These children are compelled to begin working at a young age to pay for their food and housing, rather than working toward a better education to help mold their future.

The National Statistics Office estimates that 3.6 million Filipino children between the ages of 5 and 17 work as children, making up around 15.9% of all Filipinos.

 

Life in the city

When Diana arrived in the city she had a job in a bakery shop every afternoon and took care of her cousins in the morning. She fights a rollercoaster of emotions, facing difficulties in adjusting to her new environment, as a 15-year-old working, instead of studying. 

Working all day every day, she manages o send money to her family, howsoever. Some of her younger siblings started going to school. 

In the city, Diana meets the love of his life, Nick. They instantly clicked together as Nick was also from the province.  Everything was going well do her.

But after several years, Diana’s father was killed. It made her feel like drowning in a sea of grief. She thought of ending the suffering that she has. But she did not.

“Naalala ko nung mga Panahon na iyon, Hindi pa ako pwede mawala. May mga Kapatid pa along Kailangan ko tulungan”, Diana said. 

 

After the storm

Nick and Diana made the decision to move to the province and start a bakery after getting married. Using the money they had earned through years of labor in the city. They quickly started additional small companies, including piggeries, sari-sari shops, and automobile rentals. They also have several fields of sugar cane.

With her life going as she wishes, she helped her mother and siblings. Diana and her siblings worked together to finish their studies. She also helped them in starting their businesses. 

“Pagkatapos ng ilang taong paghihirap at partitions, naranasan ko na rin ang ganitong buhay, ‘Yung lagging may makakain, may parang magagamit kapag Kailangan. Masaya ako kasi pinaghirapan ko ito, sa tulong din ng asawa ko”, Diana said

Diana’s life journey wasn’t a joke; at age 15, she began working to help her family. She is a fight, though. From a young girl doing shop labor to a bake shop own