When the school year opened this June, most kids saw it as the end of the blissful summer days when they can sleep and play all they want. But for some, the first day of school was a day they have long waited for.

Of course, who wouldn’t get excited over the thrill of wearing a new pair of shoes and uniform, a fresh set of school supplies and a new set of books? At least for the nerdy types, that is. But more than the buzz of writing on the first pages of a new notebook or doodling on a crisp notepad, for sisters Maricel and Noela, going back to school is all they ever wanted.

These two girls came from a long line of people deprived of an education. Their father can barely read and their mom can’t even write her full name. He is a farm helper and she is a housemaid. Of their three older siblings, Noel and Norlyn are already fortunate to even make it to first grade. Noli wasn’t that lucky; he didn’t experience going to school at all. In fact, their mother Norma couldn’t remember a single relative who finished high school. For their family, this seemed like a fate they have long accepted and getting stuck in menial jobs was a fact they’re already resigned to. It was true for the generations that came before them, it’s still true for them today. 

But when Maricel and Noela became part of the sponsorship program in 2008, it gave them a chance to hope… that things can be better, that maybe, there is a possibility that they can break away from the crippling cycle of illiteracy that runs in their family.

With the help of sponsorship, their mother Norma is convinced that life could be different for her two youngest daughters. The educational support that Children International provides to sponsored children encouraged her to send her girls back to school. Maricel and Noela, ages 12 and 8, are now both in Grade 2. They maybe lagging behind compared to the students in their batch but their eagerness to learn more than makes up for it.

Talking to these girls, I saw how badly they wanted to learn. At first, they seemed aloof and couldn’t even meet my gaze but they warmed up eventually and started sharing their thoughts with me. They said they both wanted to go to school but their parents just couldn’t afford it so they had to stop. Noela, the more outspoken one of the two girls, told me how she loved being in school because they get to meet new friends and most of all learn how to read and write. She proudly demonstrated how well she could write her name and filled an entire page in no time.

Maricel, on the other hand, brought out the story book she got from CI last Christmas and read me a paragraph from her favorite story. She loves books and history is her favorite subject, she told me.

Looking in their eyes you can see that the thirst for learning is so real you could almost touch it and their enthusiasm so high you can’t help but root for them. If the writings on this wall are any indication, these girls will go a long way… all they need is a chance.