By: Shy Polido
“I AM a proud daughter of a farmer.”
These were the words of the 18-year-old Ela Marfil Sullano – a resident of Barangay Cabugao Norte, Pavia, Iloilo – as she took to social media to express her gratitude to her greatest teacher, her father Edwin.
As the country celebrates National Teachers’ Month, let us take a glimpse of those top-tier encounters with the noblest people we’re happy to come across. But this time a much closer look to our very nest with our first educators and our teachers for life…
He is Ela’s favorite teacher: the 58-year-old Tatay Edwin, a hard-working farmer and a single father.
Ela just graduated from Pavia National High School with flying colors, all thanks to her father, she said.
“Nakapagtapos ako dahil sa dugo’t pawis ng aking ama,” she wrote in a social media post which later hit the trends.
She belonged to a broken family, she shared. But that didn’t hinder her climb towards achieving greater heights.
Her biggest learning
Be independent. Be courageous.
For Ela, those were the golden seeds her father has sown.
“Biggest life lesson I learned from my father is to be independent and have courage. Don’t depend your life to other people… you need to work on your own,” Ela told Panay News.
“Huwag kang mag papa–apekto sa mga taong nag ja-judge or naninira sa ‘yo at sa pamilya nyo,” she furthered citing circumstances she’s teased because of her father’s occupation and their family’s financial struggle.
But her father told her: “Gawin mo pa lalo itong inspirasyon para tapusin ang iyong pag-aaral at balang araw ay makatulong sa pamilya.”
Ela graduated at the top of her class garnering “With High Honors” while being part of their school’s Supreme Student Government. Now, she’s enrolled in St. Vincent College of Science and Technology pursuing a degree program in accountancy.
Her messages
“To my father, I know and you know I’m not a showy type of daughter sa inyo. I don’t even say personally the words ‘I Love You,’ ‘Thank You.’ But I want you to know nga palangga ta gid kamu that’s why wala ko gid gina-uyangan ang kabuhi ko biskan broken family ‘ta… Wala ko naisip nga mag rebelde or mag bisyo-bisyo like other teenagers nga the same situation sa atun. Gusto ko gid maka tapos eskwela ko kay gusto ko na maka bulig sa imo,” Ela poured out emotion.
Then came the heartwarming part.
“Kag ‘Pa, tani mag lawig ka pa gid sa kalibutan kay gusto ko ipa-experince ang life nga indi mo kinahanglan magpa-init sa uma kag indi magpuli sa balay nga basa sang ulan... Thank you for everything. I promise I will be a Certified Public Accountant someday.”
Ela also encouraged those in the waves of struggle: “To my fellow students or teenagers who also belong to a broken family, or to those na medyo hirap sa buhay, don’t lose hope dahil hindi ibig sabihin na ganyan ang buhay n’yo ngayon eh ganyan lang ‘yan habang buhay.”
“You have your mind to think. You have your feet to walk. You have your hands to work. Ang kailangan mo lang gawin ay magsikap at gamitin ang mga biyayang ibinigay sayo ng Panginoon upang baguhin at mapabuti ang inyong buhay. Hindi hadlang ang kahirapan sa taong may pangarap. Make an action,” she said.
Soar high, Ela
Living with her motto, “In life, wherever you go or whatever you do you will never defeated unless you give up,” Ela sees herself working in a reputable company as a Certified Public Accountant 15 years later.
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And this is when we fully realize: not all the time we get teachers on pieces of chalk and sheets of papers, but sometimes they are just there in the guise of our family – our mothers and fathers.
Tatay Edwin is one of the greatest “teachers” we’ve known as we instill into our hearts that he being a sower doesn’t just sow seeds to soils./PN
