Meet Jande, he wants to become a Teacher

I wrote this short story about Jande, summer of 2015 when I was still with my previous organization. During the time when I was trying to form a team of sponsors for him, that's also the time when some drastic change came about. I wasn't able to go back and see him as promised. A year after, I went back to Maatop for our notebook distribution, hoping I would see him. I did not. With a sinking heart I realized he wasn't around at all. Thankfully his lola was there and she approached me with tears in her eyes. "Mam nagamasakit si Toto Jande," she informed me. I remember he was also sick last summer when I first met him. I eagerly asked if I could go and see him, but she said I will have to climb two hills and a river to reach their house. She said Jande, who is an honor student, somewhat lost his eagerness for school the past year. His grades dropped and he would usually just sit by their window and say, "Will Mam Anne come back for me?" It tugged at my heart but I didn't want to cry this time. I wanted to remain calm and focused, I had to find ways to help him. I am not sure most of the time every time I promise help for these children, but I just promise them anyway. I guess in the heart of my heart, I know that there are others like me who are drawn to these kinds of stories. 

Will you help me help him? / Anne

THIS WAS MY STORY ABOUT HIM LAST YEAR: Jande, only 5 years old, lost his mother to an illness only last December. He never got to know his father. Long after the villagers went home after our activity, Jande lingered. I was busy packing up when I heard a faint voice from behind me calling out, "Mam, we're going home now. Thank you very much." When I turned to see who was the owner of the small voice, I saw a small boy with a curious pair of eyes that looked straight into mine, and through my soul. I spent many minutes talking to him and asking him what he wanted to be when he grows up. "I want to be a teacher." I said, "What subject would you like to teach?" he replied, very clear and decisive, "An English teacher." In a place like Maatop, people do not even know the word "dream". Not a single pupil answered me what they wanted to be when they grow up. Jande was different. He stood out, armed with a dream of becoming an English teacher someday, without a father, without a mother, without anything to hold on to for his future.

Let us be the ones for him to hold on to. Jande is giving us the chance to share part of ourselves and be blessed by the experience.