that was granted to me by PNA.
I can honestly say that
FROM PAYATAS TO LAS VEGAS
Verjen Soliman-Amay
Special Education Teacher
Las Vegas, Nevada
Back in the Philippines, I am from a family of 6.
I grew up in a below poverty line family in Payatas (one
of the poorest communities in the Philippines and was
known to be the rubbish landfilled of the country). A
community which poverty is everywhere or reflected in
every people's way of lives and means of living is
mainly scavenging. Putting food on our table was our
daily priority, and finances had always been an abso-
lute concern.
As a child, I had dreams and hope beyond reach. Hav-
ing lived five houses away from the dumpsite, the
mountain of rubbish became my training ground, and
poverty became a platform, where I made my dreams
and visions of tomorrow.
My family and I met Fr. Paul Uwemedimo of the Puso
ng Ama Foundation Incorporated (PNA) in Payatas. I
was able to go to college through the full scholarship
I do not exactly know what my life would be today
without the scholarship I have gotten years back then
because it helped me pursue my college dreams.
I went to a university and pursued elementary educa-
tion with a major in special education – that placed me
as the first member of my family to earn a college de-
gree.
While under the scholarship program, the PNA Founda-
tion supported me not just by helping me financially
but in many ways possible. They helped me look at my
future in larger perspective and had always been caring
about me holistically. They provided me unwavering
support academically, psychologically, emotionally, so-
cially, practically, and spiritually through their various
programs – which tailored my personal goals, values,
and beliefs.
After my service in the Department of Education in the
Philippines for 9 years, I am presently serving the Clark
County School District here in Las Vegas Nevada, teach-
ing children with special needs.
Puso Ng Ama Foundation and the scholarship made all
the difference in my life. I am grateful beyond words
and wish to give back. I want through PNA to help peo-
ple like me living in poverty in Payatas. I am so hum-
bled to be talking on behalf of the foundation as one of
its legacies, on how it transformed my life, and how it
helped me get to where I am today.
POSTSCRIPT SENT TO FR. PAUL UWEMEDIMO
I'm still editing my testimony actually. My heart is full.
There's a lot of things to say and I'm having a hard time
picking the right words. I also want to say how PNA
touched the lives of many families in Payatas...that you
already sent a lot of children to school and now they
are working, making a living for their own
families ...how you set as an example of God's love.