RAMCHAND CAITOR
RAMCHAND
CAITOR
S.Y. 2013-2014
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
I still vividly remember when my father told me, “o, itong P2,000, ipamasahe mo pa-Maynila. Magtrabaho ka. Ayusin mo ‘yang buhay mo. ‘Wag mo kaming alalahanin dito. Pangarap mo ang unahin mo.” (“Use this P2,000 to go to Manila. Work there and get a better life. Don’t worry about us here. Put your dreams first.”) Recalling these words from him still makes me cry to this day.
I was born and raised in the small town of Remedios T. Romualdez in Agusan del Norte in Mindanao. I am the youngest of six children. My parents were farmers of root crops, vegetables, and bananas.
Every weekend, instead of resting, playing with friends, or doing our school assignments, my siblings and I had to wake up at 5:00 AM to feed the carabao. Afterwards, we’d go straight to the farm and help our parents for the rest of the day.
As a family, we experienced a lot of challenges. If I could describe our life back then, it was "isang kahig, isang tuka". (“We lived from hand to mouth.”) The struggle with farming is that the day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit. It takes months before you can harvest. So, making money or finding food to eat is a day to day concern.
After I graduated from high school, my parents told me that they can no longer send me to college. So, I had to decide for my future. I worked in the market and hauled sacks of rice. I did anything to feed myself until I decided to go to Manila.
I wanted to move to Manila because three of my siblings were there and I wanted to escape from poverty. I felt like there will be more opportunities there that can pull me out of poverty.
My father sold the only pig we had for P2,000. At the time, that sum could buy two sacks of rice for two or three months' consumption. But my parents gave me the money because my father saw that I am not really into farming. Maybe he also didn’t want to force me to work with him. And maybe in his mind, I could land a better job in Manila if they let me go.
I used to only see Manila on TV, but now I was going there. I missed my parents and friends yet at the same time I was excited for what laid ahead of me in Manila.
I became a scholar of a fast-food company in 2010. I agreed to work as service crew in the morning and went to school in the afternoon. I worked from 5:00 AM to 3:00 PM and took my classes afterwards until 9:00 PM.
I had to skip a meal so I could save up for books and projects. Sometimes, I had to walk about 6 kilometers to go home because I ran out of allowance. There were also times when I only had rice in my lunch box. Since I had no money to buy dishes and didn’t want my classmates to know, I ate my lunch inside a comfort room cubicle at a mall near our school.
I worked at the fast-food restaurant for only a year because it was really difficult for me to work eight hours a day and go to school at the same time. That's when I prayed to God for a miracle. I told Him I will not give up on my dreams and that I didn’t want to go back to Mindanao without a college diploma.
In 2011, during my second year in college, I became a Real LIFE scholar. I finally felt like a real student because everything I needed for my studies were provided for. Financial, emotional, spiritual, and mental support were given to me generously.
Today, six years after I achieved my degree in information technology, I work remotely for a U.S.-based company. As a Real LIFE scholar, I learned how to be a person of integrity and excellence. During our regular work hours, I could choose to sleep and do my tasks when it's convenient for me. But every time I am reminded of integrity, I become conscious about my tasks. I make sure I get them done on time. I work during the hours stipulated in my contract.
I am now also a licensed professional teacher. I look forward to serving at a public school in the future.
Poverty pushed me to finish my education despite the challenges I faced. Education opens more opportunities and helps you get a good job. This is important to me because coming from Mindanao where the only source of my family's income was farming, living day to day has been very difficult. Education also opened my mind to dream even higher and it made me strong and confident. No dream is too big for a man who never makes excuses but instead perseveres until he gets it.
Every time I visit our farm now, I am reminded of the difficulties we went through. But it also makes me thank God for His grace and for answering our prayers. This is what I learned: if you really persevere and cast all your cares to Him, He will pour out His blessings and He will make your life a testimony for others.
I am thankful for everything. I won’t be where I am today without Real LIFE.
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