Kuya Alkansiya

CEBU, Philippines - All the way from San Roque, Liloan, he rides a habal-habal, carrying on his durable shoulders a bundle weighing more than 50 kilograms worth of his items, and then takes a cab from the town proper all the way to the city to try his luck. This is the life of Manuel Fajardo, 60, also known as "Kuya Alkansiya".

Kuya Manuel walks along the alleys of Fuente Osmena, B. Rodriguez, Ramon Aboitiz Street, and Capitol just to earn every centavo he could get from his handmade bamboo coin banks. Every Thursdays and Fridays, at night, you'll often see the hard-working Kuya Manuel who never loses hope to see his products. He doesn't have a fixed price for his bamboo coin banks. Yes, it's your call. It's your decision on how much you'll owe him for his bamboo coin banks. "Di lang ta mamugos. Naa rana nila kung pila ilang mahatag. Kung gamay, maayo lang at least naa, kung dako, aw mas maayo (I won't force them. It's all up to them on how much they'd give me. If it would be smaller than the usual price, it would be fine, at least I earned something; but if it's bigger than expected, well that would be better)" He encountered a lot of terrible haggling on his items in the past so that he got tired and decided to make it the customer's decision on how much they will be willing to pay for his handmade bamboo coin banks.

Kuya Manuel lives in a small nipa hut in San Roque together with his wife. His children are all married and have gone their separate ways, bringing with them the good teachings of their father who also happened to be one of the leaders of the the Catholic Charismatic Movement, a small religious organization in their barrio. "Lazy people don't even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find." Proverbs 12:27 – This is one of Kuya Manuel's favorite biblical verses and the one he holds on to. With his strong faith in God and his diligence, Kuya Manuel, no doubt, is someone we should be looking up to. He's not greedy, he's not selfish, he works hard to earn.

Though he's not sure if he'd bring home the bacon, Kuya Manuel never loses hope. The world would definitely be a better place if there were more people like Kuya Manuel. (FREEMAN)