Sponsored child, Janaca Dycoco has stepped out of the shadow of poverty to take her place at the country’s top ranked university.
The 16-year-old is in her first year of a four-year-long BA in Communication Arts at the University of the Philippines.
Janaca, who has been a recipient of VFV’s Sponsor-A-Child program for eight years, said she is grateful for the support of her sponsor.
“The sponsorship has been a really great help to my studies — my sponsor has helped me with all of my academic needs,” said Janaca.
“Without them I could not afford the university uniform or project materials and the photocopying is very expensive because books are limited.”
Despite tragically losing her younger sister in Typhoon Yolanda last year, Janaca remains determined to build a brighter future for herself and her family.
“I want to be a writer at a publishing house; I want to make money selling my stories,” she said.
Janaca’s desire to write grew out of a high school crush. Unable to tell anyone about it she expressed her feelings by shaping them into a love story.
“I felt very happy expressing myself like that; I loved writing my own romantic story,” she said.
“In writing we are given the chance to express ourselves and who we really are.”
The proud undergraduate, from Tanaun, relishes wearing her school’s uniform to the local market.
“I am so proud of what I have achieved and that my neighbors look at me and say, ‘oh my god she is studying there even though she is from a poor family,’” she beamed.
*Written by volunteer Emma Bailie, journalist from Australia