An EverFree Scholar's Story

The Pilot of my destiny

EverFree Philippines Scholars

At EverFree, we go beyond rescue; we believe in preventing human trafficking before it takes root by empowering vulnerable communities with scholarships, counseling, and career opportunities. The following story was written* by an EverFree scholar. He has titled it "The Pilot of My Own Destiny" and describes his journey of hope towards pursuit of his goals, undeterred by the odds.

*edited to preserve anonymity

I grew up in a household where my parents were constantly drunk, witnessing my sister being mistreated by relatives, and being forced to work from a young age, while being physically abused.

It all made life feel incredibly unfair and tough. The most challenging experience of my life was just trying to survive while secretly dreaming of getting an education and living a normal childhood.

Flash photography, Window, Gesture, Black-and-white

The most challenging experience of my life was just trying to survive while secretly dreaming of getting an education and living a normal childhood.

I should have been in school, but I had to work instead.

Despite all this, I learned to live with it and grabbed opportunities when they arose. Finally, when I was eight-years-old, I experienced my first day of school, but it was not the happy experience I had hoped for. I felt a sense of emptiness and a lack of belongingness, as I had to learn on my own without guidance or support. This feeling of loneliness and incompleteness persisted throughout my elementary school years. To fill the void, I resorted to inappropriate behavior like being naughty, not listening, and bullying classmates for attention and validation. But even then, I still felt dissatisfied and disappointed. It wasn't until a teacher approached me, praised my abilities, and encouraged me to take on leadership roles that I started to love studying, valuing education, and recalibrating my student lifestyle. I became a student leader, excelled academically, and completed elementary school with flying colors.

Vehicle registration plate, Tire, Wheel, Building, Car, Daytime, Infrastructure

I don't need sponsors,
I surf better when I'm broke anyway.

Dave Parmenter Surfer

In high school, I did my best to prioritize my studies while working to make ends meet. I maintained my status as an honor student, class president, and student government vice president. I decided to pursue an Accountancy Business and Management course during my senior year. But my life became even more challenging as I had to work early in the morning as a street sweeper, attend to my family responsibilities, and then work a part-time job after school. This left me with only 2-3 hours of sleep each day, which affected my class performance. I would often be late for the first class and struggle to stay awake in the afternoon due to exhaustion.

This took a toll on my health. I lost so much weight, people thought I was abusing drugs due to my appearance. Others assumed and judged a lot about me. But I tried to focus on surviving, I tried to laugh at the challenges.

Hand, Neck, Wood, Gesture, Finger, Eyelash, Eyewear

I graduated high school with honors.

College was my next dream— but many obstacles stood in the way of it: working two jobs to support my family, the challenges stemming from the pandemic, how I could manage it all while pursuing my courses.

This is where EverFree Philippines came in. I became an EverFree Scholar, awarded with the opportunity to pursue and finish my education. And my PTI (EverFree Philippines) Counselor helped me learn more about myself and self-improvement. I have realized that my past should not hold me back, but rather serve as a source of strength and inspiration to strive harder in life. Now, my life is much clearer, empowered, and better than before. I am grateful for the opportunities I have received and the progress I have made. This chance to go back to school is essential to me because it is a right that my parents and relatives deprived me of from a young age.