The good deeds of teachers build classrooms, inspiring poor students to stay in school
Masbate Educator Ronnie Valladores Jr.
know what it’s like to be a student with difficult circumstances.
Now, he uses his influence on social media to improve the lives of students at school.
As a young student, Masbate native Ronnie Valladores walked to school without a penny in his pocket.
As a young student, Masbate native Ronnie Valladores walked to school without a penny in his pocket.
The third of four children, he is the son of a former journalist whose salary was barely enough to provide for his family’s basic needs.
“When I was in elementary school, I didn’t have a bag,” he told ANCX.
“My classmates always had it, then the teacher sold it, and I wanted it.
I want to eat but I don’t have anything to buy.”
Now a teacher himself, Valladores sees a reflection of his youth in some of the students at Anas Elementary School.
Anas, which is the second furthest barangay from Masbate City, faces many challenges with many families depending on seasonal livelihoods such as fishing and farming.
“I can say that there are a lot of poor people here because there are a lot of people who benefited from the 4P Program [Pantawid Pamilyyang Pilipino Program] here.
Fishing and farming are very difficult, especially during storms,” Valladores said.
“Income is not fixed.The employment rate here is low.
Seeing the difficult situation of his students, the caring teacher decided to do small acts of kindness.
He recalled a boy who often skipped school because he had to travel far and lacked money to buy food.
To encourage him to come to school regularly, one day, the teacher secretly put a Fudgee bar and juice in the boy’s bag.
When the child discovered the dish, he began to cry with happiness.
“ngayong naging professor ako, bakit hindi ko gawan ng paraan na hindi na kailangang bumili ng estudyante [ng pagkain]?” he told him.
“I’m just looking for outside sponsors, stakeholders that will support my advocacy.”Valladores captured Fudgee Bar’s touching moment on video and shared it on Facebook Reels.
“My dear students,” the caption read, “I don’t want you to go away much.
My love, Sir Ronnie.
A DepEd engineer designed the construction plan and cost for the much-needed classroom.
With a donation of P300,000, the classroom was built and is expected to be ready for use by September 11.“I always post, I demonstrate,” he told us, smiling.
“I’m just surprised when someone replies to a spam message [and says], ‘I really liked your message.
‘ What can I do to help?
‘ As for what I do, I don’t ask directly.
I asked the sponsor what they could do to help.
In his videos, he calls his viewers “funny.
” “Because in my introductions, I always say, ‘Some children will be happy.
‘ And when I went into town, someone recognized me [and called me], ‘Hey, that’s funny.
‘ The spectators signaled so I rolled whatever they wanted.
Meanwhile, he calls his valued sponsors “partners.
“Valladores said improvements at his school and initiatives by other teachers in the community inspired him to continue his work.
“Next year, I’m sure something similar will happen again.It will not stop,” he assured.
We asked him about his personal wishes:
“Probably my biggest dream is to reach out to [my students] every day and inspire them with what I do for them.”
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
