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Teen Goes Viral as He Cares for Three Younger Siblings, Finds Help in Kind Riders

The fourth of seven siblings, 13-year-old Manuel Olivares stood as parents for his three younger siblings as they live in a rented room in Trece Martires, Cavite.

According to Manuel, they lost their mother to an illness but they were left by their dad after that happened. Though they had elder siblings, it was Manuel who cared for the younger ones because the older siblings had also gone away.

Photo credit: Mission Possible / Facebook

Every day, Manuel would wake up early to cook whatever food was available; though was usually just rice with a viand of soy sauce. Then, he would bathe his siblings and bring them to school. Afterwards, he would ask people from the neighborhood to let him pick up mangoes to sell at the market.

If he’s allowed, he earns about Php100 for a sack of mangoes. He uses the money to buy rice and budgets the remaining amount for their measly viand. If he’s not allowed to get mangoes for the day, he goes around the neighborhood to scavenge for trash he could still sell at the junk shop.

Photo credit: Mission Possible / Facebook

There were many times he would not be able to buy enough food for his siblings.

A neighbor, Neptuno “Nick” Jabonita, took pity on the kids as he hears them crying out of hunger. Aside from giving them food from time to time, Nick also shared their plight with his group of riders. Nick rallied the other riders to help the kids – and it was Michael Abucayan who insisted that the younger ones should be enrolled in school.

Photo credit: Mission Possible / Facebook

According to the young kids’ teacher, some parents noticed that the boys were only wearing house clothes for three days; thus, they got the boys some old uniforms to use. But this help was not enough. Rider Michael messaged Julius Babao for help – and the journalist responded.

Photo credit: Mission Possible / Facebook

Through Mission Possible, the kids were finally able to find help. They were given a few sacks of rice and various food by the program. Through Eric Co, CEO Imus Terminal Mall, the children also received foam mattresses, pillows, cabinet, and some supplies so they could open a mini sari-sari store for livelihood.

Watch this tear-jerking video:

Musmos na magulang na si Manuel, dinagsa ng tulong

Ang trese anyos at musmos na magulang na si Manuel, dinagsa ng mga kapamilyang nais tumulong. Panoorin kung paano nagpapakatatag si Manuel para sa tatlong nakababatang kapatid na umaasa sa kanya. #MissionAccomplished #MissionPossible

Posted by Mission Possible on Tuesday, July 16, 2019

What’s a Sari-Sari Store?

A sari-sari store is a small shop that sells various goods, ranging from chips to sachets of shampoo to canned goods. Depending on the size of the shop and the capital, the store might also sell rice, kerosene, and school supplies.

Inspiring

Former Street Sweeper Sends Five Kids to College, Finds Fortune by Selling Tableya

A former street sweeper finds good fortune and sends her five kids to college by selling tableya – and she has become an inspiration to many.

Today, all her five kids have finished their studies, and their home is now a favorite tourist destination. Wow!

Former Street Sweeper Finds Good Fortune in Tableya

People are born with different challenges and fortunes in life. It is said that even if you’re born poor, you can turn your life around and change your destiny.

That’s what Elsa Polot, a mother of five in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, managed to achieve as she found good fortune through hard work.

Back in 1994, Polot worked as a street sweeper. It’s a blue-collar job with low pay. Her husband didn’t earn much as a tricycle driver.

former street sweeper
Photo credit: CDN Digital

With five kids to support, Polot decided to find other ways to earn extra income. That’s when she started roasting cocoa beans to make tableya. It’s a tablet-like traditional Filipino food product (“tableya” means “tablet”) made of ground cocoa beans.

To make ends meet, she spent time preparing these products and selling them to her neighbors. She also sold her products on the streets of their city.

Photo credit: Cebu Daily News

Thanks to her determination and hard work, Polot was able to send all her five children to college.

Kids Upgrade the Family Business

All her hard work didn’t go to waste. Not only are her children professionals, they’re also helping upgrade the business.

Dalareich, a Computer Engineering graduate, also studied in Belgium where she learned the latest technology in tableya processing. She also bought machines to improve their production.

Photo credit: CDN Digital

Amazingly, the family’s tableya products are now being exported to Japan, Australia, and Sweden.

From simply making tableya, the family business has upgraded into a chocolate factory!

Chocolate “Shoes”; Photo credit: CDN Digital
Photo credit: CDN Digital

Today, not only are they producing chocolate, their home has also become a tourist spot known as the “Chocolate House.”

Uses of Tableya

  • “Tsokolate” (syrupy chocolate to match with puto maya)
  • Hot or cold cocoa beverage
  • Chocolate shake
  • Chocolate cookies
  • Chocolate products
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“Mango Flute” Girl Who was Cyber-Bullied at 14, Now a Licensed Engineer

Do you remember the “mango flute” girl who was cyber-bullied back when she was just 14 years old? She’s a licensed engineer now – and looks back to the experience with an advice for others who are experiencing a similar situation…

Cyber-Bullied “Mango Flute” Girl Becomes a Licensed Engineer

People make mistakes. Whether big or small, it’s often how we handle the situation and our attitude that can help us overcome the challenges that this mistake brought to our lives.

Pauline Claire Arucan was only 14 years old when she was subjected to intense cyber-bullying, not just by her classmates but she feels like it was the “entire Philippines” that trolled her at the time.

Photo credit: PhilStar Life

It all started with an innocent post about a delicious dessert, which she called as “mango flute.”

The young girl soon posted a follow-up, telling off someone for correcting her that the spelling should have been “mango float.” Instead of accepting her fault or realizing her mistake, she laughed off the correction for being a mistake – after all, is the mango really floating in a mango float?

She added “magic???” to her post, before ending it with “aral poh kasi muna” (that’s why you really should study first).

Of course, she’s the one who made the mistake – and the “mango float” correction was, indeed, correct.

Due to her attitude at the time, and the fact that many people are actually unsure about the dessert’s correct spelling, the post went viral.

Arucan now recalls that she experienced so much cyber-bullying at the time. Still, even if she regrets the tweet now, she was able to rise up and overcome the challenges that followed.

Photo credit: PhilStar Life

Proving that the spelling mistake was a one-off, she went on to get 1st place in a spelling bee contest at her alma mater, Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

She didn’t let that one situation get her down – and she recently shared about becoming a registered mechanical engineer.

Photo credit: Pauline Arucan

What’s a Spelling Bee?

This is a competition wherein contestants are asked to spell a selection of words, ranging in difficulty. The contestants should provide the spellings of the words as written in dictionaries.

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Top 1 in Physician Licensure Exam Battled a Heart Problem since 4 Years Old

A patient who had battled a heart problem since she was 4 years old wowed everyone after she ranked as #1 in the March 2023 Physician Licensure Exam – and netizens are happily celebrating her success.

Patient Who Battled a Heart Problem, #1 in Doctors’ Licensure Exam

Being sick is something that’s challenging, especially when you need to study, work, or accomplish your goals.

Yet there are people who still manage to excel despite their difficult situation – and they’re the truly amazing ones!

One of them is Aira Cassandra Castro, a graduate of Mariano Marcos State University – Batac who topped the March 2023 PLE (Physician Licensure Exam) with a rating of 89%.

Photo credit: Aira Castro / The Summit Express

What’s impressive about Castro’s success is that this came after she spent most of her life as a patient, battling rheumatic heart disease.

According to The Summit Express, Castro was only 4 years old when she was diagnosed with the condition.

Castro’s doctor since she was 4 years old, Dr. Patria Calupig-Demetillo, proudly shared her achievement.

According to Calupig-Demetillo’s Facebook post, she gave Castro’s monthly injection for her rheumatic fever starting when the young girl was still 9 years old until she was cleared at 19 by Dr. Pia Malanyaon, Castro’s Pediatric Cardiologist and Calupig-Demetillo’s consultant at East Avenue Medical Center.

She added that she honestly didn’t think that Castro would go this far, being a shy and modest girl. Still, she wasn’t also surprised that the brave girl was able to achieve this feat.

Photo credit: Philippine Star

A consistent academic achiever her entire life, Castro became a government scholar. She graduated summa cum laude but hadn’t expected to rank as #1.

If you want to be a doctor, you can do so, as long as you have the passion for it. Nothing is impossible if you always believe in yourself,” she shared.

What’s Rheumatic Heart Disease?

This heart disease is due to damage to the heart valves caused by rheumatic fever, an autoimmune inflammatory reaction to a throat infection from group A streptococci, such as streptococcal pharyngitis or strep throat.

The condition usually happens during childhood and can be life-threatening or lead to life-long disability.

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