Due to poverty my family could barely send me school, more so, buy me another uniform but this did not deter me from reaching my dreams…
I am Jerry Moreno Pongpong, Jr. a proud alumnus of CFC ANCOP Child Sponsorship Program, a proud child of God, committed to sharing my wonderful journey to others.
I graduated salutatorian from High School of Batch 2010 of San Jose National High School in San Jose, Camarines Sur. However, due to poverty I was in the brink of losing my dream of finishing my studies and getting my family out of poverty.
My parents worked hard and did almost everything to give me and my younger brother our basic needs, most especially education. However despite my father engaging in odd jobs (as a laborer, a farmer, a construction worker and a habal-habal driver) whatever he earned was just enough to feed us. My parents persevered so I could graduate from High School. My skipping college was not an option for them, but I knew that it would be an ultimate sacrifice for them.
The Couples for Christ (CFC) San Jose Chapter, where my parents are members, informed us about CFC ANCOP. We learned that ANCOP is sending poor children to school through its Child Sponsorship Program. This indeed was good news for us. I applied and finally got accepted in the program.
While waiting for a generous family to adopt me as their scholar, my parents worked hard to find some financial means so I don’t miss my first semester at Partido State University. This is the biggest and only state university in Partido, Camarines Sur located in the Bicol region northern part of the Philippines.
I took up Bachelor of Arts in Communication. Our money could barely cover for my school tuition and fees, thus I could not buy a second set of school uniform. I went to school every day wearing only one set of uniform which faded fast because of constant washing. As second semester approached this brought again worries on how to pay my tuition fees. It was during this time that the Lord answered our prayers. We were informed that CFC ANCOP has found me a sponsor from Canada. Immediately, I thanked God for this wonderful blessing.
Being an ANCOP scholar spared my family constant worry about my losing school. This motivated me to study harder and became not only a consistent Dean’s Lister but also an Academic Achiever or a President’s Lister. Among various awards, I was named the 2014 Academic Excellence Awardee and 2014 Outstanding Student of the Year of the College of Arts and Sciences and later paved my way of becoming the University’s 2014 Outstanding Student of the Year and 2014 Academic Awardee.
During our commencement exercises, I was given the University Leadership Award, the Jejomar C. Binay Medallion of Excellence for Leadership Award and to top it all, I graduated Cum Laude. God is really good! I owe everything I achieved to my parents and to the Lord Almighty.
At present, I am gainfully employed at the People’s Television Network Incorporated (PTNI) Broadcast Complex, Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City as a Researcher / Production Assistant of the Public Affairs Department.
Editor’s Note: Jerry currently supports the schooling of his siblings, eventually he will also be reaching out to other children in need.
By ANCOP International (Canada)