Tampakan, South Cotabato — Some dreams do not disappear. They simply wait for the right time to be pursued again.
At 31, Jeanie Rose B. Abay of Barangay Lampitak, Tampakan, continues to hold on to her dream of becoming a teacher, a dream that has survived years of interruptions, responsibilities and financial hardship.
She graduated from high school in 2012 with hopes of continuing her education. But shortly after, she became pregnant and had to put her plans on hold.
“Na-graduate ko, sir, 2012, then nabuntis ko,” she recalled.
Three years later, Jeanie Rose tried to return to school. She enrolled in college in 2015, hoping to finally continue the journey she had started.
But once again, circumstances got in the way.
“Nagbalik ko eskwela atong 2015, pero nag-stop ko tungod sa pigado,” she said.
Leaving school for the second time could have meant leaving her dream behind. Instead, watching her siblings finish their studies gave her another reason to try.
“Na-inspire ko sa akong magulang og sa akong manghod nga nakatapos sila. Sa tulo namo ka mag-igsuon, ako lang wala nakap-graduate mao nang na-inspire ko nga mo-eskuwela balik, kay maayo gyud kung naa ka’y natapusan,” she said.
A new opportunity came through the support of Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI).
For SMI, supporting education is not just about meeting SDMP requirements. It is a key part of responsible mining, showing that resource development can build people, not just roads and buildings.
By investing in scholarships, school support, and other learning activities, SMI hopes to help build a community that is more capable, better informed, and ready to take charge of its own development.
With assistance that helped make her return to college possible, Jeanie Rose once again found herself pursuing the education she had been forced to leave behind.
Today, she wears two hats that demand equal commitment: student and mother.
Her two children, aged 13 and 9, are also in school. As they work toward their own futures, their mother is doing the same, returning to the classroom and working toward her dream.
What began as a personal ambition has become an example she can show her children, that setbacks do not have to be the end of a dream. (30)
