I'm adelfa cayao 60 years old, I'm the eldest among 16 siblings, i grew up in a country side or we called mountain, my home town was located in pantag, mountain of cauayan negros occidental Philippines, from the high way it takes 1 hour to reach our house, but it was long time ago. To imagine I'm eldest daughter among 15 sibling but we are 14 who are now alive. I can't forget the hardship that I been experienced when I was a young girl. My ambition is to go to school like other students, to play with friends and classmates. But all of my dreams never come along. Instead I stayed in the river to wash the laundry all they long and grind some corn using stone grinder for our meals. That was my everyday doing. That was my obligation as laundry girl. Every time I stayed alone while doing the laundry I cried because deep inside my heart I want to go to school, I want to live as a normal kids like other, but I just grew up without ambitions. But to think about the do re me sisters and brother I lost my hope to make my dream come true. Until I reach the age of 15, I been so tired for my daily worked. At the age of 15 I decided to get married. to think if I got married maybe my work are going to lessen, I really expected after marriage I will be comfortable, I will not do any laundry, I really dreaming just to stay at home taking care of my kids and to study alone. But after marriage all disasters was arrived, my mom in-law is like a monster, we always fight every day, But in spite of that bad treatment and not so good relationship but we been in one house for so long time, until she passed away in her old age. My husband is a fisherman, when we are in our younger years and after our marriage he always went to other island for fishing, I really regret why I got married at that young aged. But I’m a person who want to finished what I been started. My husband was a smoker,drunkard,and a great gambler. All his income from fishing he just used for gambling, he arrived home drunk. Since then I learned how to be matured enough I can't trust my husband its because of his bad habits, If only I can choose I prefer to leave him, but I had one word. I promised to my parents to make my own family in hardship or in vain. Since, I tried to wash other people's laundry using hand washed; I received a small amount at the time. I learned how to fix the fishing net, how to fix our home and I learn how to earn money to raise my 7 children with irresponsible husband? no i can't say he was irresponsible because beside of his bad habbit he never do any bad to our kids, he was responsible enough to do his rules as a back bone of the family,only i hate most is his bad habbit,i doing laundry or our neighbor in dawn.
I gathered coconut leaves or nipa leaves to make a house roof. In country side in Philippines people used nipa roof to have some cool place to live. I made it and sell, I also sell peanuts and other crackers in school it’s a basic house small business, I sell during vacant hour.. Sometimes i sell fishes if my husband gets some fish. i just walking for 4 to 5 hours, with a loud voice. All of that difficulties i've experienced. I also tried to kill myself it’s because of stress and tiredness and I really want to rest, but to think about my 7 kids who are still young and needed me I endured all of that trials, Until they going to school I felt so sad being a poor my kids are very affected, we even can't buy their new clothes, new shoes even toys. But I always trust in God that someday we can have a better life. and my kids growing up without sickness and away from bad doing, I always teaches them how to respect others and be afraid of their parents and from God, and most of all how poor we are just finished their education, that is only treasure I can able to give them. We don't have anything, I let them to finish their elementary and after still hoping to finished their high school, and my husband was changed. He quit smoking, drinking and gambling. That entire he was totally changed. he been a good father and a active Christian, I was thankful to my second daughter, she is the reason why their father was totally change, at first I don't really understand what she was doing. She always went to church, UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH. Every time she went to church I requested her to get so many water full the tank of water and washed all the laundry care the cows and carabao's but she didn't say anything she just did it without murmuring. Lately I understand, through the young girl's prayer his father was totally changed, there are lots of signed before my husband decided to visit the church, and since then, we accepted the bible study and the miracles comes, my eldest daughter finished her college, all of my children been doing a good job. They helping each other hand in hand, from my eldest daughter down to my youngest son already finished their courses, and some of them have a stable family, and just 2 now not married yet. I am hoping that someday if were gone in this world, they will learn and understand the world where they came from. They will understand and realize how difficult to have a family without a stable job, without exact education and early marriage. If you know how to drawn near to God everything is possible, God knew where to put his people in a safest place and make way how to recover things that has been lost. That things was the people who lost their hope in this world.
