He fulfills his dreams through his children

CEBU, Philippines - Gualberto Jumola Sr. of Sta. Fe, Bantayan wanted to be a Civil Engineer or an architect. He wanted to construct buildings and houses. His parents, however, could not afford to send him to college so he became a carpenter instead, a job nearest his dream, and dabbled in farming, as this was what his family does.

Rather than be pulled down by his frustrations, Gualberto Sr., made a promise to himself that unfulfilled dreams will stop with him. He vowed to do anything it takes to send his children to college and let them pursue their dreams.

And he did.

Gualberto Sr. and wife Sofia have 14 children, some are still in college while most are already professionals. One of his children, Cristanel, finished 6th in the recently concluded Electrical Engineering Board Examinations.

Poverty is not a hindrance to getting an education

There is no question that sending a child to college means expenses that can sometimes go beyond what you ordinarily earn.

So, imagine what Gualberto Sr. had to go through to send 14 children to college, 7 of whom studied at the University of the Visayas - Gualberto Jr. took up Civil Engineering; Medalla took up Commerce; Miselda, AB English; Lloyd took up Architecture; Llewel, Mechanical Engineering, Cristanel, Electrical Engineering; while Mae Grace is a 3rd year Business Administration student.

“Halos magkautang – utang ko para lang mapa eskwela nako sila. Makutaw gud akong ulo ug pangita ug kwarta. Pero kalo-oy sa Ginoo, napa eskwela gyud nako akong mga anak,” he shared, beaming with pride as he shares his children’s achievements.

The Jumola children who studied in UV said that they chose their courses themselves but their father admitted to convincing Gualberto Jr. to take up Civil Engineering because this was his dream. Gualberto Jr. is now working in Saudi Arabia.

“Nahilig na lang sad mi ug engineering tungod sa among maguwang,” said board topnotcher Cristanel.

Doting mother Sofia proudly said all her children did well in school. The elder children, she said, made it a priority to guide their younger siblings in studying.

“Gipakita gyud namo sa among mga manghod ang good example. Kinahanglan magtuon ug tarong kay ang among papa, naninguha gyud ug trabaho para maka iskwela mi,” said Miselda.

The Jumola children knew of and understood the hardships that their parents had to go through just to send them to school and they took it upon themselves to always make good in class as a way of giving back to their parents.

“Gipanaminan namo ang among kalisod mao nang naninguha gyud mi. Kahibalo mi nga kung dili mi magtarong ug iskwela, panguma ang among padungan. Pero tungod sa pagkugi sa among papa, nabutang sa among mga huna-huna nga ang kalisod ug kawad-on, dili babag para mo-asenso,”said Lloyd.

Their parents’ support in their studies was also the Jumola children’s inspiration to do good in school.

“Makakita ko sa akong papa nga lipay kaayo kung maka-tungtong sa stage basta honor akong mga maguwang. So naninguha sad ko, kaming tanan nga makasaka gyud sa stage among papa kada tuig,” shared a teary-eyed Miselda.

No matter how simple the award is, the Jumola couple would show support for their children, even an award for good behavior! In fact, Gualberto Sr. has displayed every medal and ribbon that his children ever received.

“Bisan unsa pa na nga award, ang among papa ug mama, mosaka gyud sa stage. Ma most behaved or most industrious, mopakita gyud sila namo nga nalipay sila sa among na-abot. Ang uban ginikanan di naman mosaka kay lagi gamay ra nga award. Mao na nga naninguha gyud mi tanan nga ma-honor ug maka-award. Unya makita gyud namo nga proud sila sa amo kay ipang display man ni papa ang amo mga ribbon ug medal. It started with just one wall of ribbons and medals. Now the space has grown,” shared Cristanel.

UV helped us

along the way

The Jumola patriarch admitted that his hardwork and determination to send his children to school would have been put to waste had he not chosen a school that will understand his situation.

Llewel said their parents sent them to study in UV because the university is known for having affordable tuition fees.

“Kung magpursige lang gyud ang estudyante, makat-on gyud kay nindot man ang teaching. Unya mosabot ang administration kung dili ka makabayad dayon sa tuition,” added Lloyd. He went on to share that people have a misconception about UV graduates.

“After graduation, I applied in a construction company but was told that they only accept graduates from certain schools. I submitted the requirements anyway and when I was interviewed, I proved to them that I can compete against the graduates of their preferred schools. That company was known not to accept UV graduates before. I was the first UV graduate they accepted and after seeing that I really knew what I was doing, they started accepting other UV graduates.”

Gualberto Sr. shared that UV played an important role in the realization of his dreams of having his children finish college.

Indeed, poverty is not a hindrance to achieving your goals in life. The Jumola family is a testament to that. (FREEMAN)