PH Real Estate - How an Orphan Bought a House of His Own

His name is Roberto, 9 years old, an orphan, living with the street children in the dirty streets of Manila.  

He started living in the streets, when his parents died in separate hit-and-run accidents in the busy streets of the sprawling metropolis. No one had dared to help them, except for a neighbor, who had asked help from the DSWD.

 When they were alive, Roberto and his parents had lived under one of the bridges in the city. They had thrived on the discarded leftovers of fast foods within the area.

In his young mind, he had dreamed of an elegant house, where the wind and rain couldn’t penetrate during rainy days, and where the burning rays of the sun wouldn’t be able to torment them. 

“Someday,” he thought. “I would buy a house of my own.”

And so, Roberto lived in the streets, eating left-over food, begging money from passers-by, and sleeping on the cold cemented corners of the streets. His days seemed not to get any better. 

At times, he was despondent that his dream will never come true, but whenever he visited the Quiapo Church, his spirit was enlivened. He knew he could do it through persistence and faith. How? He didn’t know how. 

One day, he saw his street friends crowding over a man. 

“Hey, Bert,” the oldest of the group called out to him. “Look at this, it’s interesting.”

Roberto approached the group and saw a man writing on a small blackboard. He listened intently as the man wrote down the alphabets and pronounced them.

“This is B for big, repeat after me,” the man pointed to the letter as the kids chorused in reply.

Roberto was fascinated. He never went to school because of poverty. He had helped his father collect scrap metals, bottles and newspapers for them to sell to buy food. 

It was the first time somebody taught him, but he quickly learned the ABCs. After an hour, they were singing the alphabet song. He was ecstatic. 

“Tomorrow, let’s meet again in this place. I’ll teach you how to read words. Okay kids?” The man declared happily.

He brought out a bagful of hamburgers and drinks and distributed them to the kids. It was a real treat to them because all they have eaten were left-over hamburgers. There was a loud cheer as the children devoured the food.

The man beamed at them and pushed his wooden cart, which was full of school supplies, towards the bus stop. 

The shadows of the approaching dusk, hovered over the man’s face, and Roberto gasped. The man had sprouted wings. But then, the man continued moving and the ‘wings’ disappeared in the shadows.

The following day, the street kids were all excited as they waited for him. Surely, there will be food again – their stomachs were growling. 

The man appeared at the appointed time, and he had one more person with him. There were small plastic chairs too, where they could sit on. There were 12 of them, and they were sitting all around the cart, while the man and his helper stood at the middle.

They were in an empty lot adjacent to the busy streets of the city.

Roberto remembered all the letters that he had learned the previous day. They were asked to write down the letters in the pad papers handed to them. 

“From now on, use these plastic folders to keep your papers and pencils. Every time you do something, you should place them inside these folders afterwards,” the man instructed them, the smile never leaving his handsome face. 

He had bushy eyebrows and curly lashes that emphasized his deep brown eyes. Roberto was drawn to him inevitably; his own sparkling, black eyes gazing with admiration and wonder. 

Why was he teaching us for free? What did he get out of it? Roberto thought inwardly.

“May we know your name, sir?” Roberto couldn’t control his curiosity any longer.

“Ah,” the man looked at Roberto with those soulful eyes. “Just call me, teacher Pol,” he replied.

The kids chanted: “Teacher Pol, Teacher Pol.”

“Okay, that’s enough. Let’s get back to learning. After this week, you should be able to read syllables. Who wants to read the alphabets we have learned yesterday?” Teacher Pol asked them.

Roberto raised his hand, and he read the alphabets without hesitation. Pol had noticed then that he was a fast learner. 

During the next lessons, it was evident that Roberto was ahead of the other kids. On the 4th day, he was able to read short syllables. Pol was amazed. Roberto was a prodigy. He had learned within 4 days what other kids could learn in 2 week’s time.

Roberto loved learning. After the lessons, he would ask Teacher Pol to lend him a book that he could read at night. At times, he used candles and lights from nearby posts to read the book. This is my ticket of owning my own home, he often told himself.

Teacher Pol made a vow that he would ensure that Roberto would be able to pursue his education. He searched for sponsors to pay for Roberto’s schooling. A wealthy philanthropist volunteered to send Roberto to school – all expenses paid. 

It was the blessing Roberto had been praying for, and had firmly believed in.

Pol also searched for sponsors for the other kids. He wanted to get them off the streets and get them educated. It would surely give them hope and a good future.

After several years of diligence and hard work, Roberto graduated from his course, Business Management, with the highest honors - Summa Cum Laude.

Teacher Pol acted as his guardian. The wealthy sponsor send an expensive watch, with the note: “My company is waiting for you, Summa Cum Laude. Congratulations!”

Both mentor and student, hugged each other, their eyes wet. “You’ve come a long way, child. God bless you on your next journey,” Teacher Pol stated, his voice quivering.

“Thank you for everything, sir. You’re the angel who gave us wings,” Roberto hugged Teacher Pol tightly.

Roberto’s dream house? Well, he purchased it after a year of working with his sponsor’s company.  It was built exactly as he had imagined it in his dreams.

As Roberto stood on his veranda, he looked up to the heavens and thanked his lucky stars. “To you up there, thank you. Ma and Pa, this is for you.”

So, don’t be afraid to dream of buying your ideal house, no matter how financially constraint you are. Who knows? A miracle could happen to you too, just like what happened to Roberto. 

 

Tags:    home buying tips