Her name is Cristine Valenzuela.

Born to a farmer, Alfredo Valenzuela and a homemaker, Norma Valenzuela on January 26, 2004 at a small hut in Barangay Tabba, Pamplona Cagayan. She is the youngest of three brood, Gilbert, the eldest who is now 25 years old and Catherine who is 23.

 

A Family With Shattered Beginnings

Alfredo and Norma grew up not finishing primary education, as such, illiteracy limited the family’s opportunities for a more sustainable livelihood. The family income came from Alfredo’s tenancy share from a relative’s rice field. Sometimes, Alfredo would venture into vegetable farming, however, the arid lands of Pamplona cannot sustain the growth of cash crops, without investing in farm implements, something which the couple cannot sustain. During waiting periods for harvest, Alfredo engaged in the collection of river reeds locally known as “pawid” or “nipa.” He takes the boat at dawn to collect the material which Norma sews into local roofing thatch, basket or mat. Here, they would earn two hundred pesos which they would use to buy rice and an occasional viand of meat or fish for their daily meal.

Nutrition was not a priority, what was important was that they don’t go hungry. The children suffered poor nutrition with an occasional bout of illness, something which further submerged the family in various debts. Gilbert suffered the most. Sometime during his early teens, the couple noticed an abnormal enlargement of their eldest’ limbs, desolation prevented them from having his condition checked and it grew worse by the day. He was teased and taunted by peers, neighbors and strangers to a point where he felt embarrassed to be seen in public. He stopped going to school middle of his secondary education.

 

With Gilbert out of school, the family turned to Catherine, hoping she would continue the hopes they had for Gilbert. This proved too much for the young girl’s fragile state of mind that she took to marriage to escape the bleak state of their existence as soon as she turned 18, delegating herself to a life of service for her spouse almost 10 years her senior.

 

An Observant Child

 

With the family’s successive misfortune, Cristine’s growth as a shy and reserved little girl seemed to go unnoticed. It seemed the disappointment at sister Catherine overshadowed her earnest endeavour to step out of the bleakness cast by poverty.

“As far as I can remember, I always felt I needed to do more for my family,” she would later lament. “I would tell myself that I will not follow my siblings footsteps, rather, I would be the one to take the path they failed to choose.”

 

Perhaps it was the first honor medal she brought home which made the family take notice, or the special recognition and commendation from teachers. It was apparent that she did not intend to slow down once she started, excelling through the years, taking home gold medal after gold medal for academic excellence.

 

A major setback set in at the tender age of 9, when she overheard parents and teachers discuss among themselves, an event which would fuel her determination to further improve and succeed.

 

She was set to attend a Leadership Congress, however some parents were adamant to keep her off the delegation for the reason that her family could not afford to send her and that the slot would be wasted on her.

 

Myriad emotions filled her young heart upon those words, indignation, fury, resentment, hopelessness and self-pity. “For the first time, I not only felt the reality of being poor,” she tearfully recalls. “I felt it was bad to be poor, I felt discriminated for being poor.” Despite that, she chose to keep her silence, bottling the pain and the feelings of rejection. Opting instead to prove her worth, that she had as much right to be part of the delegation as any student, and that she would not fail.

 

Cristine used her family’s destitution as a challenge. Every day she would watch her parents toil without complaint to provide for them, watch her siblings struggle to

augment the meagre income with paid labor and push herself to continue the family’s hopes of having someone in the family to finally get to finish tertiary education.

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program provided her an avenue for self-improvement. With the program supplementing her educational needs, more opportunities were made available for her, this time, she would willingly attend without worrying about the expenditures that would have rather been used for the family. She joined activities with the fervent thirst for knowledge.

 

“The Pantawid Program is my salvation, it has opened so much opportunities for me. For the first time, my parents considered my education as a priority and that they were able to support me to pursue my interests.”

 

Developing Athletic Aptitude

 

Cristine exhibited extraordinary ability to take on new things. She was first introduced to badminton by her godfather, who would let her tag along while he trained aspiring athletes. It didn’t take long for her natural agility and competitiveness to be noticed and soon she was joining school competitions.

 

“My first ever game, I lost,” she recalls, “but I didn’t feel bad to the point that I wanted to give up badminton, in fact, I felt strong and invincible with the racket in my hand that I wanted to join more competitions.”

She was soon rewarded with winnings that not only brought pride to her family but also her school and district. Her coaches praise her resilience, team mates see her meek demeanor melt away as soon as she steps inside the playing field.

 

Leadership and Exemplary Model

 

For every undertaking, Cristine personified reliability and maturity beyond her years. She has consistently been elected as the class representative and an officer for school government. A member of their parish’ youth ministry.

 

“You’d think a girl as young as she is and with that family background, would just be content in staying in school,” lauds her adviser and coach in badminton. “But not Cristine, she is resourceful and determined. Just look at her badminton racket, it’s cheap, probably wouldn’t last the whole game, but she’s confident enough that it will see her through.”

 

“She does not protest or whine when I say we cannot afford a sophisticated athletic gear for her,” mother Norma adds. “She would say, ‘Okay na po ito’ and mean it. She takes care of her things and makes sure to maximize its utility.”

This attitude seemed to have a positive effects on her siblings that sister Catherine was encouraged to enrol at Technical Education Skills Development Authority for tailoring. Like her exemplary sibling, Catherine developed an interest in self-improvement.

 

Gilbert followed suit. Despite only able to do menial tasks, such as coconut gathering and other menial labor that paid by the day, he believes that his contribution to his sister’s education, after his own families needs, he can begin to hope for a better future for themselves as soon as Cristine finishes teriary education.

 

To this day Cristine is still described as meek and soft spoken, however, under her calm and composed demeanor lies the heart of a strong warrior, determined to make a difference for herself and for her loved ones.