REACTION PAPER

Strong river currents and muddy roads, with feet and hands covered in scratches and
wounds, poverty and forced early labor – these are the primary problems faced by the children of
San Guillermo, Isabela, Burgos Elementary School. “Walang Maiiwan” which means “No one
gets left behind” in English, is a documentary film by Kara David produced by iWitness under
GMA Network. Students such as Martin, Aquino and Riki are one of the students who
experience the struggle just for the sake of learning. These children have a yearning passion to
learn and go to school, but due to the lack of child support and indecisiveness, it results in them
not being able to partake school and must do labor for the sake of their family.

After watching the video, I realized that there are students that are not privileged enough
in their social status, but they strive to pursue their passion in learning. As said in the
documentary, Burgos East Elementary School has a high dropout rate. What concerns me is that
our country is lacking the competency for giving the right education for remote areas such as San
Guillermo. They must cross rivers, walk up steep muddy roads so they can attend school and
learn. Hopefully, The Department of Education and the government could think of a solution to
this problem. This kind of problem is happening all over our country, every child should have the
right to have access to proper education.

In the documentary, once they reach school, Sir Mike treats their wounds, washes their
feet, and hands, cuts their nails weekly to maintain proper order and cleanliness. A kid named
Martin, 10 years old, has a brother learning together in Burgos East Elementary School. They
both share the same pair of slippers, alternating every day. Martin can’t move to the next grade
level due to absentees; this results in repeating kindergarten level. Martin needs to care for his
younger sibling because no one in their household can. Most of them are busy farming or doing
labor work. This same goes for Aquino Guinib and Riki, the top students at Burgos East
Elementary School, due to unfortunate circumstances, they are forced to work for the sake of
their family. I felt heartbroken and left me in awe because of how it made me realize how
privileged I am compared to them. I feel guilty for not appreciating the things that I have. These
children have the passion to learn, the passion to study, but they can’t because of how unfair the
world is. “Mahirap naman ang buhay” as said by Riki, I can see through his eyes how sad it is to
be poor and not be able to study. Life is truly unfair; poverty is greatly affecting the future of our
country. If children are truly the hope of our nation, why can’t some of them have access to
proper education? This is what infuriates me. We live in a world where the rich are successful,
and the poor are down-to-earth failures. Rich people bragging how traffic is meanwhile poor
people in remote areas cross high tide rivers and muddy steep roads. It is not the children’s fault
that they are poor, but it is due to the indecisiveness and naiveness of the government and their
parents.
 The family of Riki, Aquino and Martin share the same common problem of our society
and that is the lack of family planning. What I hate the most is the fact that there are families
who keep giving birth to children when they are below the poverty line. It is so sad to imagine
that their children have to experience how cruel and unfair this world is. I feel bad for Riki
because his own parents scold him for going to school instead of working. “Kung hindi ako
tutulong lumayas nalang daw ako.” Children are not born to just be a helper in a household,
children should have the opportunity to learn and maybe one day they will be successful. The
amount of respect and love I have for teachers such as Sir Jun and Sir Mike gives me hope that
they are teachers who have the passion solely for teaching young individuals no matter their race,
status, or personality. They’ve dedicated themselves to serving and sacrifice for the sake of
education, it gives me hope that education in our country is somewhat in good hands.

In conclusion, students who are in poverty are not the problem but the lack of support and
incompetence of the government as to why children in remote areas are not given the equal
opportunity to go to school and learn. Hopefully there will be a long-term solution for this
concurrent problem. I am guilty that I take my blessings for granted. There are thousands of
children who would love to go to school rather than do work. As said by Nelson Mandela,
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Knowledge is
a virtue, through knowledge, we can create a better place for children like them to experience
what is like to be successful and free from poverty.