Success Stories
Lawrence’s Success Story: Making It to the Top!
Last January, the result of the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) was released. Out of the 100,000 fourth year graduating high school students who took the entrance exam, only 12,000 passed. Everyone at Virlanie were very proud that one of its children from the Family Program was one of those 12,000. He is Lawrence Baslote, a fourth year high school student from Tondo National High School who has been a Virlanie scholar since 2003. At that time, Emma Solasco, the social worker who used to handle his case saw a potential in him--he has been a consistent honor student who needs educational assistance from the Foundation. He was the valedictorian of their batch when he graduated in Grade 6 in 2007.
Lawrence is very good in Mathematics especially in Trigonometry and belongs to the top ten students of his batch. He finds it very interesting to play with numbers and look for solutions to mathematical problems. When he gets tired from solving these problems, he would crack a joke to his teacher and would say, “Sir, I think there is something wrong with the problem”--which makes the class laugh. Despite being an only child, his father’s earnings as a janitor at the Manila North Harbor is not enough to shoulder all their needs. His mother is a full time house wife who has been assigned as a community leader due to her eagerness to assist Virlanie in implementing policies regarding scholarships, collecting cards for the sponsors and coordinating issues with the sponsorship team. Lawrence is very thankful that he became a Virlanie sponsored child. Before, he used to consider himself a loner. He would just stay in one corner of their house and watch TV by himself. He goes home straight from school. He was very shy and timid. But because of Virlanie, he has more friends now in the community as he does tutorial sessions to other sponsored children. He also plays basketball with his classmates and community friends especially in Tondo during weekends to bond with them.
Lawrence is determined to become either a Civil or a Mechanical Engineer someday. When asked why, his reply was, “I want to become an engineer because it is very in demand here in our country and abroad. I will not have a hard time in finding a job. It also pays well which will help me and my family. I also want to work outside the country. I want to build a home for my family where we can live happily and peacefully”. His parents were so happy and proud when they learned that their son has passed the UPCAT. In their community, it is only Lawrence who is going to push through with studying at the University of the Philippines.
To the students who dream of achieving what Lawrence has achieved, he suggests that one should be industrious in his or her studies. Never lose hope and always pray to God for guidance.
Lawrence is currently attending its first semester at UP Los Baños. Good Luck with your studies Lawrence!
Want to help other students like Lawrence?
Email Dana or Pianine at sponsorship@virlanie.org
It is very important not to lose hope - Princess Lagao
 Ready to begin university, a new chapter in the story of my life opens. I will really strive to achieve my dream to be a music teacher. I really want to help children like me, have gone through so many difficulties in their lives.
So here I am, a fresh high-school graduate thanks to Virlanie Foundation. While at public school, I also studied for several years at Virlanie’s Magellan Learning Center. I took the opportunity to learn a lot of new activities from Virlanie’s SIBUHI Center for Art, Sports and Music. I really love music so I’m very proud to be part of the Virlanie Children’s ChoirI. I also play piano and guitar. I love doing taekwondo because it enables me to express myself; I try to perform well. (Editor: Princess earned a black belt at age 15.) I’m thankful to those who gave me the self-confidence to finish high school and choose my future.
Princess is 21 years old. She arrived at Virlanie Foundation when she was 9 years old. She spent her first year in the Drop In Center and since 2007, she has lived in Gabay Buhay Home.
When I was a baby, my grandmother left me in the Scandinavian Foundation where they take care of babies who either don’t have a mother or have parents who can’t take care of them.
I lived there for eight years until new foster parents came to take me away. Back then, I was very happy to have a family who will take care of me and love me. I was greatly disappointed - I experienced things that had never occurred in my life before. I was beaten up, had parts of my body intentionally burned, and spent all night fanning them while they slept.
I always asked myself why they were doing these things to me. In the past, I never lost hope that I can meet and talk face-to-face with someone who can understand me and what I’ve been through.
I escaped from the house to get away from that sorry situation. I went as far away as I could so that I would never see them and get beaten up again. I was like this until I got lucky when I went by a small bakery and an old woman who lived there took me in. I wasn’t yet nine years old.
It’s a good thing that God somehow heard my prayers about breaking free from that miserable life.
But a few months later, the old woman took me to the Reception and Action Center (Editor: a Manila City holding center for street children). There I was noticed by Dominique Lemay, Virlanie’s founder and president, and he brought me into the Foundation – my home ever since.
Obviously, I’m very close to our house parents in Gabay - I consider them as my own parents and the social worker as my sister. When I meet children with difficult lives I advise them never to give up and to overcome their difficulties with fortitude. It is very important not to lose hope.
- Princess Lagao -
In the week since Princess wrote this piece, she has been accepted to study music at St. Scolastica’s College, Manila recognized as one of Philippines' most prestigious and progressive colleges for women.
Dare to Succeed – by DanDan Lemay
 I was once a young boy who got lost on my way back home. I could not even remember my own identity and the whereabouts of my family due to my young age and speech problem. I was so scared and alone with nowhere to go. Virlanie Foundation Inc. rescued me from the harsh environment of Reception and Action Center Manila and from that day on my life changed.
I was given a new light and started to pick up the broken pieces of my life. It was not easy after all due to my speech and hearing difficulty. People could hardly understand and misinterpreted me at times. Other children of my age made fun of me, and worse, rejected me. Sometimes, I withdrew into my shell and cried out loud. I wanted to give up and lose hope. There are times; I would become profoundly sad, empty and lonely, because after 15 years I could not find my biological family.
In spite of these realities, I chose to win over adversity and move on with my life. I did not stop learning and finished my two-year course: Associate in Computer Technology at Adamson University, Manila. I was able to graduate last April 6, 2009 with so much happiness. When I looked back, I remembered all the hardships in doing assignments, projects and other academic requirements. During laboratory class, I started to tremble because programming is a very difficult subject for me; others were quite hard too. During exams, I reviewed until early morning like 2:50 a.m. I gave up most of the parties and outdoor activities that are usually being held in the Foundation. How I’ve missed all these fun stuff that I experienced during my early childhood days in Virlanie.
Nevertheless, I understood that what is essential right now is my future, which lays in having right perspective, focus and discipline. I could have chosen to dwell on my ill fated past, but through those persons who helped me through it all, I am now a better person.
They are the ones who genuinely care, accept and love me for who and what I am. They are like strong walls for me which I can depend on and inspired me to achieve greater heights. Thus, I am deeply thankful to God for they came into my life.
I am planning to get a good job and pursue a four-year degree course in Information Technology. The path for achieving my dreams and goals in life is difficult, but I know I’m on the right track.
For others, don’t judge other persons by their physical and intellectual limitations just like me who believes that success comes from within. It is not who you are that matters but it is what you are capable of becoming.
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