With no electricity at home, this 9-year-old boy does his homework under a street light
Joyce Torrefranca, a young university student from the Philippines, thought she had seen it all. When you live in a third-world country, you are struck by images of extreme poverty everyday. She never thought, however, that she would see one that would inspire yet also devastate her at the same time. Below is an image that Joyce took of a young boy doing his homework under a McDonald's street sign.
via BBC
According to the McDonald's Manager, the young boy's name is Daniel Cabrera and he is 9 years old. Daniel lives with his mother and 7 year old brother. Having lost his father, the breadwinner of the family, at a young age, Daniel and his family have been forced to panhandle in order to survive.
By day, the outside of the popular fast food chain restaurant is Daniel and his family's panhandling post. By night, it becomes Daniel's study, where he works on his homework under the restaurant's lightposts. Daniel can't work on his homework at home because his mother can't afford to pay their apartment's electric bill.
The fact that Daniel's apartment doesn't have electricity hasn't stopped his from doing his homework every night. In fact, Daniel has big goals for his future; he has dreams of becoming a doctor or a police officer some day. He knows that if he's going to make that happen, he has to study.
Daniel's story moved Joyce so much, she decided to take a picture of him and post it on her social media pages. It should be a lesson to us all, that we make way too many excuses about why we can't pursue our dreams. If we had as much determination as Daniel, nothing could stand in our way. Keep up the great work, Daniel! You have a bright future in front of you!
