SHE got pregnant, failed her parent’s dreams for her but Sheena Marie Euseña never stopped to rise above the miseries.
Euseña is now her family’s pride and breadwinner after setting up her own bakery at age 22.
She is also this year’s Batang Tesda awardee for putting into practice the learning she acquired from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in Central Visayas (Tesda-7).
Her low-income family in Sevilla, Bohol had high expectations for Sheena.
Since her father’s meager income as a government employee could not send her to college, her uncle sponsored her studies in Dipolog City where she took BS Elementary Education in 2006.
But barely after three months, Euseña went home to tell her parents she was five months pregnant. She was forced to stop schooling.
Her teenage-pregnancy became a subject of derision within their small community.
“I was desperate with my life. I became more prayerful and much closer to God,” she said.
Until in 2008, an announcement in their barangay hall on the free courses offered by Tesda reached her.
In her effort to regain her parent’s trust, she enrolled in a Food Processing vocational course and endured travelling 20 kilometers towards the Tesda’s Provincial Traning Center in Bilar, Bohol.
However the training wasn’t helpful because she could not find a job suited to her acquired skills in Bohol.
She again enrolled in the Baking/Pastry Production NC II. Soon after, she got herself a job in a local bakeshop in Tagbilaran City.
Her parents saved up to buy baking equipment so she can continue her baking skills in their community. They didn’t want her to stay in the city because no one could take care of her baby.
Neighbors ordered pastries from her in almost all occasions such as local meetings, birthdays, among others.
“At first I thought it was impossible to grow the business. But with the values I got from Tesda and with the help of my parents I was able to survive,” she said.
Considering the expenses of being a single mom and a bread winner to the family, she was able to set aside P45,000 and decided to set up a small bakeshop.
“Tesda is an agency that would empower us and bail us out from poverty. It helps develop our skills, knowledge, attitude and values in work,” Euseña said.
After her second Tesda course, she never ceased to enroll in two more trainings. She passed the Commercial Cooking in 2011 and Bread and Pastry Production in the same year making him nationally certified.
After seeing her success, a lot of her friends enrolled at Tesda.
“Enrolling at Tesda was the turning point in my life. I have learned to never let my spirits down when faced with trials because along the way you’ll realize that these are blessings in disguise. I became life’s ultimate survivor,” she said.
She was given by Tesda a recognition “Batang Tesda,” an award given to a graduate who become a role model and instruments to inspire people to strive hard amid life’s crisis. /CONTRIBUTOR Lord Capuras