A leader.

That’s how her colleagues in the Headstart Campus describe Teacher Emy. Outside the campus and to most of her neighbors, she is Nanay (Tagalog word for Mum) Imelda.

Born and raised in Northern Samar (a poor province in the Visayan region of the Philippines), Imelda Manigo is a 53-year old mother of two boys. Her eldest son, Rommel, is an incoming college sophomore taking up Bachelor of Science in Education specializing in Special Education or SPED. Raouel, her youngest, is now 12 years old and will be in 6th grade this school year. Raouel attended his early childhood education in the Headstart Campus. Teacher Emy’s husband, Romeo, is a private family driver. They have been married for 21 years.

Teacher Emy is a university u n d e r g r a d u a t e w h o s t u d i e d Business Education and previously worked as a real estate sales coordinator. She wanted to be a businesswoman ever since. In fact, she was one of the pioneer water dealers of CCT Water Hope Bagong Silangan Station. She has also been a microfinance client of CCT since 2004.

“Our community needs teachers.” Teacher Emy confesses that she never thought she would end up as a community leader. She was hesitant at the beginning because she knew it would take a big chunk of her time. But from the moment she moved to Bagong Silangan (one of the most populous areas in Quezon City), her desire to help her fellowmen grew bigger and stronger.

As far as Teacher Emy remembers, the Bagong Silangan community depended on scavenging as their main source of income. However, when the government issued the Zero Waste Management Policy in the Philippines in 2007, most of her neighbors lost the only means of livelihood they knew to survive. Some of the community residents were relocated to Montalban, Rizal (a nearby province) while breadwinners of the families who chose to stay behind opted to do construction work, a seasonal job. She knew then that something has to be done. And it was not just for her family, but also for the entire community in general.

TEACHER EMY

Up until 2007, the community largely depended on scavenging as their source of livelihood. They collect garbage from the Payatas dumpsite and sell their goods to the nearest junk shops or recycling centers. A kilo of plastic bags and plastic bottles cost around PhP1 to PhP3 per kilo while metallic objects cost PhP5 to PhP13 per kilo. They earn PhP60 to PhP100 (A$1.50 to A$2.50) in a day. However, there are times when they were unable to sell their goods right away, so they store it up in their shanties and sell it by the end of the week.

“It’s always helpful to remain visible in the community.”

Teacher Emy’s dream is to live in an empowered community, strong and d e t e r m i n e d e n o u g h t o b r e a k generational poverty. To make this a reality, she believes that education is the number one key.

In 2004, Teacher Emy’s efforts paid off to establish a learning center right at the heart of the Bagong Silangan community. Together with the leadership of Sister Mary James and the lay affiliates of the Good Shepherd Convent where the former was connected, Headstart Campus started with only fifteen (15) preschool children. Teacher Emy was one of the three (3) pioneer teachers who were trained in the UNICEF-approved home-based day care program of the city of Manila. Now on their 9th schoolyear, the campus has an average of more than a hundred children every school year, with 13 volunteer para-teachers. There are also several youth volunteers aged 18 to 22 from the community who are also being mentored to be future teachers of Headstart.

Teacher Emy is very happy with what the Headstart Campus has accomplished so far especially when the parents of their former students share about how well their children are doing in primary school and how some would even end up in the top 10 of the class. For her, these kids are living proof that they are on the right track. She firmly believes that Headstart is contributing significantly in building a strong foundation for

a b e t t e r f u t u r e fo r t h e i r community. She also thinks t h a t t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e teachers in the community gives hope to the residents of Bagong Silangan. As educators, they do not only want to share knowledge, they also want to impart values that will help shape the children’s character and ensure a better future. Indeed, Teacher Emy’s dream is very much alive!

In 2001, Teacher Emy met Sister Mary James for the first time during the inauguration of “Bahay Bukluran” (Tagalog t r a n s l a t i o n fo r “ Un i t i n g Households”), a community project of Bagong Silangan. Since 2004, they have been working hand in hand for the betterment of the Headstart C a mp u s a n d t h e B a g o n g Silangan community as a whole.

Proud to be a Headstart volunteer!