Because I’ve once covered a Palarong Pambansa (two years ago in Dumaguete), I know I would be meeting some interesting, inspiring kids. I was right. Lina Abando, the 9-year-old athlete from Kalinga, charmed me to pieces.
There are many things that make her special. Many people would say it’s her perseverance despite her disability—Lina is partially blind. Inspite of this, she made it to the Palarong Pambansa this year in Tagum City, Davao, for the first time. She competes in the long-jump competition.
But what endeared the child to me was her candor and candid demeanor. When we were talking to her, she would answer so honestly and blatantly it was too cute. It's just the way she says things.
During our conversation, she said she only had P20 in her pocket when she came to Davao for the entire duration of the competition. It’s “pocket money” her mom gave her. It breaks my heart (and I felt so ashamed) how we often take for granted an amount of money that is all a 9-year-old had. (PS: Don’t worry, DepEd covers the kids’ needs—from food to transport and shelter, even sponsors most of the gears they need to compete).
If she wins a cash prize, she said she’ll give back the P20 to her mom. When we asked her why she’d only give back P20 and not all her cash prize, she said she’ll need the money to buy school supplies. Quirky as she is, she thought about it and reconsidered. She’ll give P40 back to her mom instead.
Lina couldn’t express herself properly in Filipino (she was speaking in a dialect I’m not aware of), but we had a nice lady translate for us. But she was a very talkative girl, so I imagine what kind of conversation we could have had if language was not an issue.
When she does grow up (this is our favorite question, apparently), she wants to become a “doktor ng mga aso”. Nice! An athlete who dreams of becoming a vet. How can you not want to hug her?
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love your blogs, Kenneth! :-) Keep it coming! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, all4Love !!! Thanks for the support! :)
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