The future pilot

 

Christian Dave lives in a fishing community in Misamis Occidental province. His father, Archie, 34, is a fisherman while his mother, Niddie, 32, is a full-time housewife. Fishing in the Philippines is not a stable job. When the weather is not good, fishermen cannot set off the sea to fish. “My income is only enough to provide food for my family. I cannot support their education. It’s a daily struggle,” says Archie.

 

Because of his family’s situation, Christian Dave understood what poverty is at a young age. There were times when his mother had to borrow money from their neighbors to buy food.

 

Through World Vision’s economic development initiatives like the community savings group, Christian Dave’s parents found another way to save, earn, and borrow money in times of emergency. The savings that his parents acquire frm the savings group is helpful to support the children’s education.

 

Christian Dave’s school is a kilometer away from their house. He and his 5-year-old sister Celeste prefer to walk from their home to school in order to save their school allowance, which ranges from P5 to P10 daily. “I have a piggybank and I save some of my baon so that I can buy something for myself like toys,” Christian Dave said.

 

Most of the public schools in the Himaya community only have poor education facilities. World Vision also provided books and learning materials to improve the quality of learning among the students. “I love to ready stories and my favorite subject is Math,” the young boy added.

 

Aside from helping schools improve the quality of their facilities, World Vision also put up a local shed for community members to gather together and discuss community issues. Children, parents, and community volunteers also use the are to conduct Bible studies and nurture their relationship with God. “I love to hear Bible stories. My favorite character in the Bible is Noah,” Christian Dave shared.

 

 

“I learn so many things in school,” said Christian Dave, who recalled how he was forced to repeat first grade because he always got sick. He said that after he regained his strength, he resolved that he would never miss a class again.

 

Christian Dave is known for being a warm and friendly child. He has lots of friends in school and in his neighborhood. He can speak English well and is enthusiastic to learn. He likes to talk about his lessons in Mathematics and Science.

 

One of Christian Dave’s dreams is to ride an airplane. Although he has not seen an actual plane up close, he has been very consistent in sharing about his future goal. He aims not only to ride a plane but to navigate it too. “This smart boy always tells his friends that he wants to travel and explore things, which also became one of the reasons why he wants to become a pilot,” Teacher Ann, one of Christian Dave’s teachers, said.

 

Christian Dave has been a consistent honor student and he keeps things balanced. He loves to play slipper games, hide-and-seek, and basketball.

 

“Nothing is impossible. I will do my best to fly my own airplane soon,” says Christian Dave while folding his own paper plane.World Vision/January 12, 2017

 

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