Typhoon survivor longs for school

Only a few days after her surgery, 12-year-old Rizza Flores, a survivor of supertyphoon Yolanda from Burauen, Leyte, is yearning to go back to school.

Flores had been gifted by kindhearted benefactors with a new bag and school supplies on her birthday last November 27, her first time to receive such gifts.

“Akong bag nga gigamit kay mga hinatag sa akong tiya nga ginamit na sad nila,” she added. (I have always used hand-me-downs and secondhand bags.)

Just like her daily routine on school days, Rizza also wakes up every 6:00 a.m. in the hospital.

“Mag lakaw me kuyog sa akong classmates kada adlaw,” she said. (My classmates and I walk to school everyday.)

Their house is about 200 meters from her school in Villa Patria, a mountainous area in Burauen.

During schooldays, her parents give her two pesos for her snacks, and sometimes, nothing. After her classes, she immediately goes home to study. Her favorite subject is English.

“Gusto nako mubasa og English subjects na libro kay para maka intindi ko og English ,” she told Cebu Daily News. (I want to read English books so I will know the language.)

Aside from reading, she also draws and colors inside the hospital. She is now reading “Akong Bugsay” by Amaya Aboitiz. The book was given by Therese Gonzales for her birthday last week.

The 12-year-old wants to finish her studies and to earn money for her family.

But as of now, she still doesn’t know if her parents can still afford to send her back to school./CORRESPONDENT MICHELLE JOY L. PADAYHAG