Woman Power | A Tribute to a Superwoman

_{Some leaders are born women.}

A nation constitutes both men and women, wherein both genders play important roles. In the olden times, women were given limited rights and privileges in the society since they were perceived to be inferior compared to men.

Today, a lot has changed. Women's contributions are no longer limited to household chores, and tending to the family's needs. They are now enjoying the liberating impact of earning a salary, and of having autonomy regarding their economic lives. They can now participate in government and economic affairs of the country and are even given leadership roles.

Indeed, things have definitely improved for women. But even though times are changing, one fact still holds true, women have the biggest contribution in the society – they, and only them, have the ability to conceive and bring life to the world. Without them, a nation can't ensure its progress, stability, and long-term development.

Moreover, women comprise half of the country's power. The current female's population is 3,762,731,768 or 49.6% of the world's total population. Hence, in order for a country to be fully powered, EMPOWERING WOMEN IS IMPERATIVE!

In February 1980, US President Carter declared March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week to honor, recognize, and celebrate the achievements of American women, and it has been celebrated ever since, not just in America but also in other parts of the world.

_{“From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well." ~ James Early Carter, 39th President of the United States}

Anent to this, @sfp-cebu spearheaded by @wdoutjah hosted their first contest What It Means To Be A Woman with this celebration as its focal point. As Dr. Gerda Lerner has noted, "Women’s History is Women’s Right! It is an essential and indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision."

_{When women support each other, amazing things happen.}

It is an honor to be one of the judges of the said contest together with the brilliant @zararina. I have read all 16 entries, and everyone did very well in sharing their perceptions on what it really means to be a woman, and featuring women who embody the qualities of a strong woman! Some of the entries even put me in tears. And since we are celebrating Women's Month, I would also like to write a tribute to the most significant woman in my life -- my mother!

My mother was born and raised in a poor family. She was the eldest of eight siblings. At a very young age, she was already helping her parents make a living.

Every day during school days, she and her friends would walk an hour to reach school as there was no transportation back then in their area, aside from carabaos or bicycles (which they don't have). Before reaching school, they would stop by their favorite place -- a farm with guava trees. They would pick guavas which will serve as their meal during recess time. In the afternoon, she would harvest kalamansi (lemon), kangkong (river spinach), and mushrooms which she would sell to neighbors.

Aside from making a living, she was also busy taking care of her siblings. Because they were poor, and they were many in the family, she was the one who prepared their table. She would get 10 plates, serve rice to each of the plates, and put viand on top of the rice. They never experienced having to serve their own plates as they only had very little.

_{Despite her busy schedule she always finds time to bond with her brothers.}

That went on until she graduated high school. Despite all the hardships she faced, she persevered and graduated as Valedictorian both in Elementary and High School.

Because of her intelligence, good conduct, and for being a member of the community of the Indigenous People, she was given a full scholarship by the government through the National Integration Study Grant Program. That meant she can study anywhere in the Philippines, even in UP (University of the Philippines) or Ateneo. However, her family was facing a big problem at the time, her mother was sick of typhoid fever that affected them both emotionally and even more financially. The sickness lasted for three years, and at one point, her mother (temporarily) lost her mind. It even reached the point when they had to tie her hands because she would inflict pain on herself and others.

My mom had no choice but to stay in her hometown- Tagum City. She had to make a sacrifice by choosing a much smaller, but still a competent school -- St Mary's College of Tagum. She took up Bachelor of Secondary Education instead of Architecture (which was her dream) because it seemed the cheapest among the courses back then.

She had to save some of her tuition allotment for the needs of her family. She would also cut her monthly allowance of 500 pesos (which was already a big amount during the 80's) in half to help with her mother's medication. Her book allowance went to the family as well, and she survived college by borrowing books from several friends. I can only imagine all her sacrifices for the family-- that took a lot of courage and selflessness.

She graduated college with flying colors, and aside from her diploma, the best gift she received a month before her graduation was the total recovery of her mother from her physical and mental sickness.

In 1985, she landed a job as a teacher at one of the public schools in her hometown. And like most women, she got married, but to a man who was unemployed-- my father. She took on the responsibility of being the provider. Two years after their marriage, I was born. Then three years after, my sister came to the world. Because our family was growing, my mother had to work extra hard. She was making "yema" (a candy-like, custard-based Filipino dessert) that she sold to her students for extra income.

She also became a dealer of Grolier Encyclopedia. After teaching whole day, she would go to several houses and pitch in her spiel, with a goal to close the deal. She was so good at selling and our finances eventually became better. But there was one fateful night that she couldn't forget. She was on her way home from selling books. While she was walking the dark road of the remote village where she was from, an unknown man grabbed her and took her to the bushes. She was just fortunate that some passersby heard her scream. If not, she could have been a victim of rape.

That was the time I started hating my father for not looking after us, and letting my mother take all the responsibilities. But instead, my mother said, I should not let hate consume me. I eventually accepted the fact that my father was who he was, and there was nothing we could do but move forward. It took my mother three months to recover from the trauma. She had no choice but to overcome it since we need money. She went back into selling and eventually became a manager of Grolier Encyclopedia for Davao region.

Everything was going well, but in the year 2000, the rise of the Internet happened, and my father still didn't have a job. Her sales suddenly dropped down because nobody wanted to read books anymore, and opted to use the computer and the Internet for research. We went back to having a difficult life.

She then started to accept tutorial services. Right after school, she would dedicate 2-3 hours for tutoring students, who were mostly from well-off families. It broke her heart to teach other students when she couldn't even teach her own children. But despite her busy schedule, she was very supportive of us, and never forgot to motivate us. She trusted us with all her heart.

She became famous for her ability to teach students how to read. Those who were non-readers would look for her hoping to take advantage of her services. Parents from neighboring towns would go to Tagum City just to hire her as reading teacher. Her market became so big already, so I advised her to put up a tutorial center in our hometown.

At this time, I was already in college. In MSU (my former school), I was part of an organization that helped our fellow students by offering our free tutorial services. This gave me an idea of having a tutorial center. So I proposed it to my mother, and she agreed.

She started putting up her tutorial center in summer of 2005. She started small by renting a 40-square meter room at the heart of the city where most schools were located. She bought about five small tables and chairs and brought all the books we had at home, of which mostly were encyclopedias and interactive books from Grolier. The response of the people was overwhelming. That was the start of her life as an entrepreneur.

The next summer, 2006, she knew she had to expand. So she rented the entire second floor of the business center. Right now, Brainwave Learner's Station is already 13 years in the service and is known to be the oldest and the best tutorial center in Tagum City!

Aside from being a successful entrepreneur, she was also very successful in her teaching career. She started as a regular teacher, who eventually rose in her ranks because of her accomplishments, some of which include:

• Most Outstanding teacher for 5 years
• Three-time National Awardee as the Most Outstanding School Paper Adviser

_{She received many other awards but those two were the most significant.}

In ten years time, she already became a Master Teacher II, the highest position a teacher can have. She knew she was destined for more, so she took the Principal's Examination and passed the exam with an unbelievable score of 99%. She became the assistant principal of the school where she was employed, and two years after she was given a Principal item at Nueva Ferza Elementary School.

Even as a principal, she was performing really well. One of the supervisors in the Division of Tagum City was about to retire, and she was offered the position. She applied for it, submitted all the necessary documents to ensure her position. And in just one year, she was promoted to Education Program Supervisor for Kindergarten in DepEd Division of Tagum City.

Though she already reached the peak of her career, she continued learning, and finally finished her academic degree in Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management in 2014.

ELENA CALANTOC MAGALONA, PHD

Since she is now a supervisor, she misses being a classroom teacher. One of her responsibilities includes ensuring that kindergarten students get the best quality of education. Sometimes she gets disheartened to see teachers who are not passionate at what they do. So she created an intervention that would improve the quality of teaching of preschool teachers in Tagum called PLC (Professional Learning Community). Because of this initiative, she was able to get funds from the national government to conduct monthly seminars for Kindergarten up to Grade 3 teachers. Her passion and dedication to work has earned her the respect and love from her peers in and outside of DepEd.

_{A good leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. - John Maxwell}

Obviously, I adore my mother for the many positive attributes she possesses. But the best thing that I admired about her was her being forgiving towards my father. She taught me to love him despite all the difficulties we had to face because he didn't fulfill his duties as a father, and as a husband.

In summer of 2005, my father had a stroke. We rushed him to the hospital and have stayed there for 35 days. I know it wasn't easy for my mother to take care of my father in that state. In their years of being together, she could only count the times he made her feel special. All her life, it was only her who took care of the family -- financially, physically, and emotionally. My father was with us, but he never bothered to help my mom. Instead, he spent his time on "other things".

_{And when she was asked what forgiveness is, she gave a beautiful answer -- it is the fragrance a flower gives after it is crushed.}

I remembered very clearly when my mom had a fever -- she was shivering and can't get up. I was at school and when I came home, my mother was still in bed and haven't eaten anything. He had a husband, but she didn't feel she had one. And when my father was bedridden, my mother was there every single day to take care of him. She did that wholeheartedly, despite everything she went through with him.

Sometimes I wish I could also tell the world "I have the best father", but all I can say is "I miss you papa." He was not the best, but it didn't make me love him any less. For though he weren't my rock, he made me strong. Though he didn't provide, he made me responsible. In a different way, he has taught me everything I needed to learn n life. Nevertheless, I have always loved him and I am grateful for all the things he had done and haven't done for us. This was all thanks to my mother who made sure we always see the good in people, especially towards my father. She taught me to love without conditions. And this is the reason why I admire her strength more than ever!

My father died on June 4, 2015. It was the saddest day of my life, and I know there's no moving on. My father fought a good fight. He was brave and strong until the end. Now my pain is to love him from afar. It was difficult, but eventually, we were able to move forward with our lives.

It has always been my mother's dream to have her own preschool. She then talked to me and proposed that we build a preschool of our own. She didn't have to convince me because I know we will do well, knowing she will be my business partner. The plan to build a preschool was due to her passion and commitment to developing children who are strong in several domains such as cognitive (head), affective (heart), and psychomotor (hand).

So, last summer (2017) my mother and I invested our money to put up a small preschool -- Brain Wave Preschool Academy. It's still our first school year and so far we are very happy with the outcome of our early childhood development program.

My friends would often commend me for being brave and strong, and those who have read my previous blogs would understand this matter. But everything I went through was nothing compared to my mother. I am strong because I was raised by a strong woman.

_{My dream is for her to always be happy and enjoy life to the fullest, because she deserves nothing but the best!}

My mother is the epitome of a superwoman -- one who feels deeply and loves unconditionally; one who gives as much as she can without expecting anything in return, one whose tears flow as much as her laughter; one who is unapologetically resilient despite everything, one who in her essence is a gift to the world!