CeC Stories # 1: EUTIQUIO, THE DILIGENT ONE

Maya Angelou said that there is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you. And I agree. Having been a CeC Manager for more than five years, I have a lot of stories to tell.
Because of the agony, I decided to give it a shot. As an amateur writer, I will do a series of very short stories of people working and training with us at the Malvar CeC and upload it every Friday in this account.

STORY # 1: EUTIQUIO, THE DILIGENT ONE

It was on a hot and humid day when I first saw him at our CeC. He was tall, with wavy hair and a shy smile. He was with Malin, our Alternative Learning Systems Mobile Teacher who doubles up as Assistant CeC Manager.

A native of Negros Oriental, Eutiquio, at 27 years old did not know how to read and write. He and his wife separated, prompting him to leave their place and found work as a gardener at one of the piggery farms in Malvar, Batangas. He left his only daughter in the care of his parents.

I always see him at the CeC with Malin, diligently and patiently reading and listening to an application, the Basic Sight Words, where he learns how to read and pronounce letters and words. Very slowly and painstakingly, he learned how to read and write.

After several months, he was coached by Vincent, CeC Knowledge worker. He was taught how to open and close the computer, how to use the application Type Faster and how to do word processing.

His improvement in writing and reading and using the computer was such that I invited him to tell his story to a study tour group visiting our CeC.

This was three years ago. Today, at 30 years old he looks and sounds different and he exudes a lot of confidence.

Thanks to Teacher Malin, he can now slowly read and write without coaching. And thanks to Vincent, he is now digitally literate.

He uses a headset as he opens the eSkwela in preparation for his taking the Accreditation and Equivalency Exams for out of school youth. If he passes this exam, he will be considered an elementary level graduate.

That is not all. Now that he can already read and write and use computers, he now uses Facebook and Messenger and is in constant touch with his Grade III daughter who now lives in Bicol with his mother. He was also able to acquire a student driver’s license and has opened his own bank account!

Bravo Eutiquio!

By Linda N. Balbuena, CeC Manager