Dahon Girl Jhesa Balbastro Pursues Studies Despite Poverty, Scores High Grades
DAHON GIRL – Jhesa Balbastro a.k.a ‘Dahon girl’ continued her studies despite poverty.
During the presidential debate in 2016, among the issues tackled by the candidates is about education.
The life of a student named Jhesa Balbastro or “Dahon girl” was featured on a short documentary. She once uses a banana leaf as her paper during tests since her family could not afford to buy her paper for school.
Jhesa Balbastro’s father worked as a construction worker but not on a regular basis while her mother does odd jobs to earn money. The girl is usually left at home with her five younger siblings.
In a previous article, Dahon girl gave a message to Rodrigo Duterte after he got elected as the president.
“Sana matulungan nya ako hangga’t akoy makatapos ng pag-aaral,” she said in Cebuano dialect.
Three years after Dahon girl’s brief message to President Duterte, she continued her studies. In fact, she also got higher grades in school.
Based on a report from ABS-CBN, Jhesa’s parents now have jobs. Her mother and father work as household helpers of a lawyer in Bohol.
The student’s mother, Mary Jane, admit that their life is still difficult for they still can’t afford electricity and water. But her daughter’s achievement in school really made her proud.
According to the report, Jhesa got countless perfect scores in her tests. She said she wanted to be teacher someday.
“I like school, I like Filipino because it’s not so hard,” said Jhesa.
Based on the report, Dahon girl’s teacher Mary Ann Doroy complimented her determination in her studies.
“This is a symbol of reality, that there are students who are willing to learn but could not afford it,” said Doroy in Cebuano.
Surely, Dahon girl has inspired a lot of people in her story. May she continue to persevere and hopefully get into college.
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