“Gusto ko maging guro paglaki ko. Ngunit paano? Ako ay isang lumpo”. ( I want to be a teacher when I grow up. But how can I? I am crippled.) Ana Mae claimed.

Anna Mae Laguerta, 10 years old from Barangay Masinas, Sorsogon City was born to be a normal and a healthy baby, the second child among the three children of Arlene, a housekeeper and Dionisio, a driver. With a sole bread earner in the family, life was tough that providing the needs of the family was not easy.

Anna Mae was then four years old when she had high fever, which opted Arlene to bring the child to the hospital. This lasted for about two weeks. The doctor’s diagnosis is that Anna Mae was afflicted with anterior horn disorder or the weakness of either upper or lower motor neuron. Anna Mae’s lower motor was affected which caused her to be crippled. From a very jolly and active child, Anna Mae became loner and does not ever want to go out and play with her peers.  But the parents and even the grandmother did not stop encouraging her to go out. “ Paano ko maabot ang aking pangarap? Hindi na ako makapag lakad? (How can I reach for my dream that I could not walk anymore?) claimed Anna Mae.

The Laguerta couple was hopeful that their daughter will be able to recover from her sickness…that she will be able to walk. Despite of the family’s financial difficulty Anna Mae’s parents submitted her for physical therapy which lasted for a year but to no avail.

At the age of six, Anna Mae started to be in school. The changes in the new environment need a big adjustment on the child. The family was able to provide her with a wheelchair which keeps the family find ease in the child’s mobility. “ Para lang makapasok siya sa paaralan, kailangan siyang kargahin”. (Just for Anna to be in school, we have to carry her) recalled Dionisia. But with her wheelchair, the family members have to take turn in assisting the child in going to school.

In 2013, the Columbian Government thru the DSWD Protective Services Bureau donated the Personal Energy Transport (PET), an assistive device which is an answer to her mobility. Anna Mae is now in Grade II. With her PET she could now go to school alone using her bare hands as if she is riding on her own bicycle. Ana Mae has suddenly changed her mood. She is now active and with happy disposition. Her classmates also shares Ana Mae’s happiness. She now regularly goes to school driving her PET device from her residence to Abuyog Elementary School which is 200 meters away from their home.

According to her teachers Anna Mae exhibits good scholastic record. She is always on top of her class. “ Pagbubutihin ko ang aking pag-aaral para makamit ko ang aking pangarap na maging guro” ( I will do good in my studies so that I will be able to reach my dream… to be a teacher.

Anna Mae believes that her disability is not a hindrance for her to become a successful teacher someday.   ### /eejerusalem