Hi, I’m Jennilyn. I’m the youngest in the family. Four of my brothers work as scavengers in the community.
We relocated to Bohol when the old Smokey Mountain dump site was closed, but we moved back to Manila again. Since then, we’ve been changing addresses, so that I had to enroll in the Grade 6 level twice. My schooling came to a halt at the age of 17 because of financial hardships.
I entered the ALS (Alternative Learning System) program in 2018, motivated by my friend who wanted to continue her studies. I was beaming with joy when I passed the accreditation test. I was the first and the only one in the family to receive a high school diploma.
Currently, I am a Grade 11 student at the Timoteo Paez Integrated High School. I had a lot of apprehensions going back to a regular school because I had skipped several grade levels. Thankfully, I have adjusted and still manage to get good grades.
I was already satisfied studying for my high school diploma, but because of Young Focus, I’m even more inspired to pursue higher education. I dream of becoming a flight attendant someday and helping my parents build their dream house so they have their own place to stay.