Stories of motherhood
As we celebrate Mother’s Day, UNICEF shares the stories of seven Filipino mothers — stories of hope, survival and love.
Rhea Milado was four months pregnant when Typhoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda) hit her hometown of Tacloban City. She and her four-year-old daughter swam through the rapidly rising floodwater to reach higher ground, as big waves from the storm surge battered throughout the night.
“People around us were crying, praying, begging for help,” Rhea recalled. “I don’t know how I found the strength, but I remember telling myself, ‘Yolanda, you may be strong! But a mother’s love is stronger.’ ”
The typhoon washed away their house. “We were left with nothing. But what more could I ask for when we were all alive?” Rhea said. “There are times when I worry about our future, but a mother’s job is never done. I want to rise up again for my children. I want to help them get education and a decent job, so they are not poor and don’t have to go through hardships like we did.”
Venus Pedro’s son Jericho was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old. While her son attended special classes at Project TEACH (Therapy, Education and Assimilation of Children with Handicap) in Mandaluyong City, Venus also decided to volunteer at the centre.
Together with therapists and other trained volunteers, Venus provides much-needed support and guidance for children with disabilities and their caretakers. As she counsels other parents, she tells them: “I’ll help your children, but you should also learn to help them.”
Wilma Madato is the Training Officer of the Bangsamoro Islamic Women Auxiliary Group, a partner in UNICEF’s work to stop the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict in the Philippines. Through the Children, Not Soldiers campaign, Wilma and other women educate parents and community leaders on children’s rights and advocate for their protection.
“As mothers, we need to know that it is the right of every child to have an education. Our children belong to the classrooms and not in the camps or in the battlegrounds,” Wilma said.
She sees the campaign as an opportunity to share her vision for a brighter future for the Bangsamoro region. “The success of this campaign will create a new generation of educated leaders who will someday take the reign of leadership in the region. This new generation will no longer fight with arms but with their pens,” she said.
Twelve-year-old Jericho lives with his grandmother Monica Ignacio in Roxas City. He volunteered in one of UNICEF’s child-friendly spaces for children affected by Typhoon Haiyan, facilitating activities that help them recover from the disaster. He never met his father, and his mother remarried and started a new family.
Jericho’s grandmother makes a living selling sweet rice treats to children in their community. “I find strength and power from my grandmother,” Jericho says. “She is the one who sends me to school, feeds me, raises me, and the one who gives me affection.”
Despite the challenges in life, Jericho wants to become a doctor to help sick people, especially his grandmother with all her ailments.
Melissa Saño lives in Tanauan, Leyte, with her husband and her two children. Although they have limited resources, she ensures that her children receive proper nutrition and are always healthy, especially her younger child Chris Joseph.
“I always go to the health centre. I learned about breastfeeding, what kinds of foods to give him from six months onwards and to make sure that he’s always clean,” she said. She also grows nutritious vegetables in a small garden to feed her family.
By receiving proper nutrition and staying healthy from birth, children get the best start in life. “I just want to raise my children with the right discipline and hope they will be able to finish school,” Melissa says. I want to provide them with a proper house and maybe have a small store so that I can earn income and still look after them even if I’m just at home.”
For three days a week, midwife Mardi Berongoy rides her motorbike to the remote village of Matarinao in Eastern Samar to vaccinate children and provide pre-natal and post-partum check-ups for mothers.
Delivering quality healthcare services to mothers and children in remote areas in the Philippines is difficult, but health workers like Mardi work tirelessly to ensure that every mother and child is reached.
“Commitment — that’s the number one requirement in this profession,” Mardi says. “If one is not committed, you can just do your job, collect your salary at the end of the month and that’s it. But the women and children will be the ones to suffer. Our main duty is to save the lives of women and children and ensure their good health.”
Chyrine Medino is a teacher at Quinapondan Elementary School in Eastern Samar. She and her sons survived Typhoon Haiyan, but her husband passed away during the disaster. Despite this, she immediately went back to work to help her pupils recover.
“They needed to see me — their teacher — as an example. I had to set aside my own problems so I could be strong for them,” Chyrine said.
Going back to teaching right after the disaster helped Chyrine cope with her loss. Her children, pupils and her husband’s memory keep her inspired. “I believe he is watching over me and our boys and I know that he wants us to be happy,” she says.
UNICEF works to reduce maternal and newborn deaths, and ensure a healthy start in life for all children, especially the most disadvantaged. To learn more about UNICEF’s work in the Philippines, visit www.unicef.ph.
