Background

            I was just five (5) years old then and my sister was a year younger than me when my biological father left our mother for another woman.  He was not just an ordinary philandering man but an exceptional one.  As far as I could remember, I only have known personally the 18 other children of my father from the nine (9) identified other women of my philandering father, which means that there could be more, from far places where my father had been, because of the nature of his work, a business man who travels from place to place, staying there for awhile and leaving again for another location.

            My broken hearted mother endured it all.  She was an orphan because her mother died while she was still a baby and as a consequence she was left by his father with their neighbor and married another woman also.  I could see her sacrifices just to keep us together and be able to live a normal life despite all the hardships that she has to face.  She married again after a year of being separated, with another man who loved her despite her past and they begot seven (7) children more.  But life became more miserable for us financially considering our growing family that their combined income could not anymore cope up with our daily needs. 

            Our daily struggles were still fresh in my mind until now, that whenever I reminisce the past, I thanked God so much, He let me survive. 

The Struggle for Education

            With the desire of my mother to give me a good foundation in school, being the eldest of her children, she personally taught me how to read the alphabet and kiddy books early in the morning at 4:00AM everyday, and helped me memorize poems, read kiddy Bible stories which she bought while I was still in her womb.  She also taught me how to write my name and do simple drawings.  So, when I entered in the kindergarten (preparatory school), I graduated as Salutatorian since my classmate coming from a well-to-do family was more favored and was considered as the Valedictorian instead of me.  The owner of the school, having noticed my talents, proposed to my mother to adopt me and that she will bring me to the United States so I could earn my education better.  But my mother refused by telling her that no matter how poor we are, she could not bear the pain of losing us and she would rather try to find other means, even if it would be hard, in order to earn a living to give us the needed education.