Wearing a simple striped sleeveless shirt and faded maong shorts, the 13-year old Shemiah Pineda, regional winner of Search for Exemplary Pantawid Pamilya Children, gently combs her hair before the start of the interview. Came from a bath with her younger siblings at the back of their house, Shemiah has a playful energy that afternoon.

A week before the interview, Shemiah was hailed as the regional winner at the recently concluded Search for Exemplary Pantawid Pamilya Children at Makati Palace Hotel last August 23, 2013. Among the five contenders, Shemiah emerged as the one who best exemplifies qualities of an excellent model in home, in school, and at the community.

 Incomplete

Shemiah and her two siblings live with their grandparents. At the age of 10, the once whole and happy family they know suddenly becomes broken. Their father left them and no one knows where he went, when he is coming back, or if he ever will. But life has to go on so they say.

They live in Commonwealth, Quezon City when that happened. Without knowing what to do and left with the task of raising her kids alone, Prescilla, mother of Shemiah, went back home to her parents with her kids in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro and has been living there since. But Prescilla has to provide for her kids and does not want to rely all their lives on her parents. She now works as house help in a good family in Pasay City and is sending money to her children to provide for their needs.

Shemiah and her siblings were once again left without a parent, but the reason is clear this time, that is to provide a better life for their family. Shemiah knows that well, and doing her best in her studies is the best contribution she could give for her family’s welfare.

Support from others

Although her mother is working in Metro Manila, she cannot fully support all the expenses for her children’s schooling. Because of that, Shemiah was asked by her mother to transfer to a public school. But she refused and begged her mother not to. She doesn’t want to because she will lose the chance to be the top student since she will be a transferee.

Her grandmother, Lola Nancy, said that because so much potential is seen in Shemiah, few people have been supporting her even though they are not their relatives. One of her teachers paid for her examination fees. “Sayang naman daw po kasi kaya tinulungan nila ang apo ko,” said Lola Nancy. Also, Shemiah’s uncle who already has a family in Calapan City also sends money to Lola Nancy and spends some of it to the needs of her grandchildren.

In addition, being a Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary is a big help to the family. Shemiah said that she is able to buy materials for her school projects and assignments now that they became part of the program. It also lifts a burden of their expenses at home. “Nung unang tanggap nga po namin ng cash grant, bumili kami ng isang sako ng bigas,” merrily recalled by Shemiah. The support they get from the program makes the children not worry in their needs and concentrate more in their studies.

Young and active

A talented and active student, Shemiah is seen as this kind of girl. True to being a talented kid, she did a monologue, sang, and danced in the talent portion of the Search for Exemplary Children contest. She also joins a lot of extracurricular activities such as quiz bees of various subjects, poster-making contests, and singing contests. She recently won first prize in a poster-making contest in their school for the Buwan ng Wika celebration.

Shemiah said, “Lahat po kaming magkakapatid ay marunong magdrawing.” The siblings have always been fond of creating art from a blank piece of paper. She recalls that her father is a good artist and they get that talent from him. She is also a consistent top honor student in school and most of the time she is picked by her teachers to represent their class in activities. She graduated as the elementary valedictorian and has consistently been an honor student in high school. Her grandmother said that she likes to study. She spends an hour or so finishing her homework.

When asked what she wants to take up in college, Shemiah answered accountancy if given the chance. She wants to finish school, find a good job, and be successful. In this way, she said, she would be able to help her family. She believes that education will help her achieve her dream – to have a better life for their family.

Out of shells

Because egg is her baon most of the time, Shemiah collects the eggshells. A stack of eggshells is placed in a drawer in their living room and when asked what she will do with it, “Dati nakagawa na ako ng dragon tapos kinulayan ko. Ngayon, di ko pa po alam kung anong gagawin ko,” said Shemiah with a coy smile. She just wants to make something out of the wasted product, a small hobby that made some of great young artists successful.

Despite being caught up with the problems of adult and difficulties in life, Shemiah continues to live – enjoying being a kid by utilizing the talents and skills she has, hoping and believing that the best is yet to come.