CeC Story #5. We Wish You Well, Francia!

Life is sometimes surprising, sometimes interesting and at times stranger than fiction. Just like the life Francia is living.

This is her story.

After passing the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), Francia, at 28 years old and originally from the Bicol provinces, applied for a teaching job at the DepEd Malvar. She was hired in June of 2015 as a temporary Kindergarten school teacher together with 10 other teachers. By December, they were told by their respective principals that they have to stop teaching because funds were no longer available. The Grade I teachers took over their responsibilities revising their own schedules to accommodate the kindergarten pupils.
“What can you say about your termination as a kindergarten teacher? How did you feel?” I asked. “Of course, I was stunned. You know how difficult life is. My husband, who is a vegetable vendor barely make the ends meet for me and our two kids. Being jobless is an awful feeling,” she answered.

And then there was sparkle on her eyes as she continued. “However, my stint as a temporary teacher allowed me to gain knowledge and skills at using the computer. When I was studying to become a teacher, we only listened to lectures about the computer. It was not a hands-on thing or a one on one tutorial. At the Malvar Satellite Community eCenter (CeC) of the Municipality of Malvar, I get to touch and use a real computer as I do their free basic digital literacy training. Since I have no computer at home, I was so excited to use the computer all to myself and at a time which was convenient for me. I feel so blessed and so happy.”

Strange! No job but excited and feeling blessed!

How Francia learned of the free basic digital literacy program of the CeC is a story in itself. One of her kinder pupils has a sister in Grade VI who is also availing of the CeC-5K program. After depositing her sister to Francia’s class, the grade VI pupil kept telling her that she needs to go at once because she is attending a free computer class. Francia got curious. She has always wanted to take computer classes but she needs to pay a hefty sum. She asked a lot of questions and got answers that made her decide to go to the CeC. She enrolled herself and diligently attended the free training after her classes in the afternoon.
Francia is eagerly waiting to be issued a Certificate of Completion from the CeC which she will be using as part of her credentials when she files for ranking at the Division Office of the DepEd. CeC Certificates of Completion are being recognized by the DepEd.

Very recently, Francia found a job doing tutorials with four pupils. She is planning to apply for a regular position with the DepEd next schoolyear.

As I ended up my interview with her, Francia shared these parting words. “I am really happy and excited about the knowledge and skills I acquired from the CeC. I would like to thank Sir Evan who patiently taught me everything about the computer and how to use it. My biggest thanks go to Mayor Carlito de la Peña Reyes who fully supports this 5K-CeC program and makes it available to every Malvareño.”

Francia, we wish you well and we hope to see you again next year as a regular DepEd teacher!

By Linda N. Balbuena, CeC Manager