THE PHILIPPINES.
Brothers Gabriel, Adriel, and Ariel walk home from the Star of Hope school. The skyscrapers of sprawling Manila rise up like a movie backdrop in the distance. Out here in Taytay, there are no skyscrapers—just cramped shacks stacked on top of one another. The area packs in nearly 26,000 residents per square mile.
The brothers’ home is tiny too, but not crowded enough: for four years now, it has been missing one person.
“Dad’s heart stopped,” Gabriel explains. “I miss him.”
A Mother’s Heavy Burden
Ever since, a heavy burden has rested on their mother, Mary. Her husband’s death also meant the family’s main source of income was ripped away. Taking time to grieve was a luxury Mary couldn’t afford. She had to hurry and take a job at a laundromat just to feed her kids.
“My boys mean everything to me,” she says.
Her workday starts at 7:00 a.m. and runs until 5:30 p.m.—nearly eleven hours a day, day after day, week after week. For all that grueling work, she makes about $4.50 a day. That works out to an hourly wage of roughly 42 cents.
“It barely covers the absolute basics, and sometimes not even that,” Mary says. “But what choice do I have?”
Life Inside the Shack
Her pay buys a shelter built of concrete and plywood panels. Beneath bare feet, the concrete gives way to packed dirt. Mary keeps the place spotless, but she can’t keep the bugs from crawling in.
There is one tiny room where everyone sleeps, and another room for everything else: cooking, eating, doing homework, and spending time together. They’ve never owned a TV. The power works only sporadically, and there is no running water or plumbing. Instead, they bathe by pouring cold water over themselves with a plastic scoop. That is how the boys get clean for school every single morning.
Two Worlds Apart
The contrast between their home and the school is like night and day—a world apart. Showing up presentable is a matter of pride and dignity, so many parents hand-wash their children’s school uniforms multiple times a week.
“We’ve been through a tough time,” Mary says. “But we’ve gotten wonderful support from Star of Hope.”
At school—equipped with everything from running water to a modern computer lab—the children see two things:
Through hard work in their studies, backed by sponsors and donors, kids like Gabriel, Adriel, and Ariel know they can build a better future—both for themselves and for their mom.
That gives them a drive that never burns out.
Give the gift of a hopeful start to the school year for a child in need.
