Life is difficult to the Mangyan community who have little access to education because their far-flung communities are too far from the schools. Thankfully, there are people who have helped these communities build makeshift schools while others support Mangyan scholars so they could finish their education in nearby cities.
When Kara David founded Project Malasakit in 2002, a number of indigenous people have already been supported, particularly in their studies. One of these is Patrick Reyes, a Mangyan who dreamed of becoming a teacher so he could help his community learn to read and write.
Just like many Mangyans, Patrick comes from a very poor family living in Mindoro Oriental. Thanks to Kara David’s Project Malasakit, the young man was able to go to school. The aspiring teacher was able to graduate and recently passed the Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET), becoming a fully licensed professional teacher!
Photo credit: Kara David / Instagram
The veteran journalist was all praises for this young man. She wrote on her Instagram page:
“Congratulations to our Project Malasakit scholar Patrick Reyes of Mindoro Oriental for passing the LET exam for teachers. I met Patrick many years ago when I did a documentary on the indigenous peoples of Mindoro, the Mangyan tribe.
Patrick comes from a very poor Mangyan family. He is a hardworking young man who dreams of becoming a teacher to help spread the gift of education to his community. Bravo Patrick! We are very proud of you! Salamat sa lahat ng donors at higit sa lahat, salamat Panginoon sa biyaya ng malasakit.”
A lot of netizens were impressed that this young Mangyan was able to study and pass the LET, saying people like Kara are heaven-sent to these communities who barely receive help from the government.
Thanks to the help of Project Malasakit, Patrick was able to graduate and could now pay it forward to his community!
Congratulations Patrick and more power to Project Malasakit!
