“Gusto ko talaga tong Electrical Installation and Maintenance course, kaning opportunity duol pod sa among barangay. Dili ingon nga mag transportation pa ka. Nindot kaayo.” Said Hipolito F. Caballero, Jr during an interview after he confidently marched on his graduation ceremony last April 6, 2017 in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.

Hipolito is one of the 880 graduates who took the skills training course under Electrical Installation and Maintenance. He underwent community-based training in Electrical Installation and Maintenance National Certificate II (NC II).

Hipolito, 24 years old is the fifth child among the nine children of his parents, Andresa and Hipolito, Sr. The family has been a member of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program since 2014.

His parents and siblings fondly call him “Sunog”. But behind the nickname was a tragic experience. He was 6 months old then when their house got burned. The fire easily spread and razed their dwelling that is made in bamboo and cogon roof. The sudden incident unfortunately caused his disability.

Today, being a person with disability (PWD), he wholeheartedly pushed himself to be a significant inspiration to many. His disability won’t stop his dream, he said.

“Lisod man sa akong kaugalingon ako lang gikaya. Akong huna2 man good dili kay ingon nga disable ko. Akoang I kompleto jud kay kaya man nako ang buhaton sa uban.”

Hipolito is not only a NC II holder, but also a graduate of Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science at Western Mindanao State University- Pagadian City campus last 2015. He was able to finish his studies through the combined efforts of his family, and other siblings. A lot of effort, hard work and sacrifice were his ticket to finish school.

Life was not easy for his family back when he was younger. He used to accompany his father in farming. “magtanom mi og mais, maghakot og lubi, mamasa ug baboy nga pambukid nga trabaho.”

 

The reason to double up their effort was a challenge to sustain their daily expenses. Their neighbours used to pay for the services to transport coconuts. He earns 250-300 pesos for 1,000 pieces of transported coconut. Though this has not been a regular work, but true enough, this helped their family.

If not transporting coconuts or farming, he proudly shared that he also accepts document encoding. Being a computer literate, he gets paid for 20 pesos per page. The highest earning he got so far was 150.00 pesos. He works in a nearby internet café since he does not own a personal computer. He dreamed someday to have his own so he can use it for future income generating activities.

Having two certificates, he is more confident to face life’s challenges. He sets his mind to do everything in his power, and perseverance to achieve his dreams in giving his family a good life and stable income.

Being a disable will never stop Hipolito from doing his best, in fact this enabled him to realize that his situation will not define his capabilities.

“kanang parehas nako nga PWD, dili nato hindrance kung unsa ta, dili nato itago kung unsa ta. Dapat ipakita nato nga kabalo ta nga kaya nato. Mag pursigi gyud ug eskwela para naay learnings kay kana jud ang importante sa atong kinabuhi.”

Hipolito expressed his grateful thanks to the Technical and Vocational Institute and Department of Social Welfare and Development who assisted and helped him avail the said training.

“Akong dakong pasalamat sa 1ANDALL Technical School, dako nakong pasalamat kay kining opportunity nga nahatag sa atong Zamboanga del Sur, dako jud katabang isip di lang ako nga PWD, sa tanan, mahibal.an pod nila nga magamit sa ilang pangkinabuhi.”

“Sa DSWD, Department of Social Welfare and Development, dako pod jud kaayo akong pasalamat nila nga ni appoint pod sila nga niani nga vocational nga gihatag diri sa among lungsod, Dako kaayo akong pasalamat.”

Now that Hipolito is an NC II holder he has more opportunities to earn extra income through electrical repair. He earns around five hundred (500) pesos per repair made.###