Dreams and Opportunities: An MAA Scholar's Journey

Lovely is an 18-year old Mano Amiga scholar who is graduating from high school in May 2022. She is part of the first batch of children who became scholars when Mano Amiga started in 2008. Lovely spoke to the Mano Amiga team to look back on how far she’s come.

At a young age, Lovely was filled with curiosity and loved to play with her older sister’s things. Her mom, Marybeth, enrolled her in a nearby kindergarten school so she could learn and explore more. On Lovely’s first day, news of a new school whose staff were interviewing parents by the train station spread and Mommy Marybeth grabbed the chance for Lovely to transfer schools. This is the start of their Mano Amiga journey.

Wealth of values and opportunities

Being with Mano Amiga has opened opportunities not only for Lovely but also for her parents. Mommy Marybeth and her husband were both high school graduates and faced a lot of challenges financially. Their initial dream to be college graduates now fuel their hope and efforts for Lovely to achieve hers. On top of the scholarship and quality education Lovely was getting, Mommy Marybeth appreciated the Catholic values being instilled in their family.

For Lovely, the people of Mano have been the greatest teachers. They taught and guided the students toward holistic growth and supported them unconditionally, as she has experienced.

Dream Rekindled

It was in a Grade 1 interview with Mano Amiga when Lovely first shared that she wanted to be a doctor or a teacher when she grew up. Throughout the years, her interest shifted to a lot of things, like cooking, etc. Towards the end of high school, watching medical Korean TV shows helped her realize and rediscover her calling to serve and help people through medicine.

Even as a child, Lovely knew that being a doctor meant spending money which her parents won’t be able to afford. Fortunately, being with a supportive family and school environment has led her to continue pursuing her dream.  “Yung Mano Amiga, yun yung nagging guide or support po sa akin na kahit na financially unstable, may chance pa rin ako na mangarap kung ano man yung gusto kong gawin sa buhay ko,” Lovely said. (Mano Amiga became the guide or support for me, that even though financially unstable, I have the chance to dream and do whatever I want to with my life.)

Lovely and her family realized that opportunities filled the path to their dreams. Sometimes it presents itself like their first encounter with Mano Amiga by the train station, but sometimes they just have to look hard. Lovely recently applied to three universities with medical-related courses. She passed BS Human Biology, an accelerated program at De La Salle University and is a step closer to fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor.

Message to Fellow Dreamers

Mommy Marybeth calls for parents to take an active part in the realization of their children’s dreams - support them and seek opportunities. If they can, enroll their kids in Mano Amiga. She shared how the Parents grow in skills and character as well: she got better at parenting and what she needs to do for her own personal betterment from various workshops held.

To her fellow youth, Lovely reminds them that there are no obstacles they can overcome. “As long as  you're striving, and gustong gusto mo talaga yung pangarap mo, meron at meron na mga tao sa paligid mo na willing tulungan ka, katulad nga ng Mano Amiga. Yung pangarap nila tutuparin nila kahit gaano kahirap or impossible sa tingin nyo,” she said. (As long as you’re striving and you really want to reach your dreams, there will always be people around you willing to help, like Mano Amiga. Reach for your dreams no matter how hard or how impossible you think it is.)