He comes to school with his baby sister, so that he does not have to miss a lesson and their photo has touched everyone's heart ...
Many of our grandparents have told us about how they had to take care of their younger brothers and sisters, while their parents were working in the fields, or had emigrated to other countries.
In fact, several decades ago, in times of war or in previous years when economic well-being was not yet so widespread, it was up to the older children, who were themselves still children, to take care of their younger brothers and sisters.
Actually, this reality is still very much present in all those areas of the world that live in a state of poverty. As a matter of fact, the news story that has thrilled the whole world comes from one of these places.
In a small rural village in the Philippines, a child arrived at school with his baby sister: "I brought her with me because I didn't want to be absent from school!"
The young boy is called Justin. He is in the first grade and attends the Salvacion Elementary School. Like many other of his peers, he lives in a family of farmers and fishermen, who cannot afford to stay at home to look after their young children and be absent from work.
In the Philippines, and likewise, in many other poor areas of the world, not working one day means not being able to put food on the table! For this reason, the younger children are often entrusted to the older ones.
Justin was supposed to stay home that day with his little 18-month-old sister but at the thought of having to skip school, Justin made a big decision. He arrived at the school together with his little baby sister with the hope of obtaining his teacher's permission to attend the class.
Ms. Mamlei, Justin's teacher, could not deny the right to study to such a boy who did not want to give up going to school even for one day. And so, the little siblings sat together in the front row in a desk seat. The teacher could not resist capturing an image that was comical but also so exhilarating and inspirational that is sure to send a positive message to all those students whose school education is guaranteed, and perhaps because of this, they end up hating school.
"When you have a dream for the future, it is the reason for not being absent from school --- for anything in the world! Here's something we should all learn from", wrote Ms. Mamlei on Facebook.
