Balut vendor turns himself into web developer
One of the real-life heroes who took the spotlight in the recent State
of the Nation Address of Pres. Benigno Aquino III once roamed the
streets of Rizal vending balut (fertilized duck embryo).
Emerson Paguia tried various odd jobs, but what he earned was not enough to fend for his family.
“I was willing to take on any type of job. I didn’t want to be
idle,” he said. For additional income, Paguia sold balut at night. The
little money he earned from it was used to help him with his daily
expenses.
“I finished high school, and I heard that some
call center companies accept high school students, but I realized that
my weak communication skills would not afford me to land in such a job,”
he said.
Paguia, who is in his late 20s, knew he was
also keen on technical matters and wanted to pursue training in a course
related to information technology.
Although financially
hard up, he always saved a few pesos for a trip to the internet shop to
look for job openings and training opportunities. That was when he
chanced upon the announcement for a web development scholarship while
surfing online.
The training was under the Training for
Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) of Tesda in partnership with computer
school Informatics.
“The information on the website said
they will give us training on data programming and PHP server site
encryption. It’s one course I want to specialize on, but the free
website tutorial were not very helpful,” Paguia said.
Getting in the training was not the end of Paguia’s woes. The challenges
of sustaining and attending his classes were not an easy task. Money
was again the problem.
To save on transportation
expenses, he sometimes walked to the Informatics College at Eastwood in
Quezon City. It was no easy feat as he lived in Angono, Rizal, or a
three-hour walk.
After class, he continued selling balut to get by. He said it was
difficult, but he knew the scholarship was a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity he should not let slip away. Each day in school was a step
closer to his dreams, Paguia said.
After completing the
program, he emerged as one of the top scholars in the class. Discovering
his potential, Informatics immediately hired him in its Web development
team.
Paguia is now embarking on his first big IT project — the school’s online student portal.
He has since left the streets and has retired his balut basket, but always mindful that this represents his humble beginnings.
source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/319603/scitech/technology/balut-vendor-turns-himself-into-web-developer
