Student with great determination graduated from senior high despite having disability

• Gelume Maceda shares her sentiment growing up without her parents love, and left with her grandmother
• Because of her disability, students tend to bully her but she never gave up
• Her positivity in life comes from the support of a religious youth organization where she joins actively

We have heard and read a lot of inspiring graduation stories that poverty did not hinder the persevering from achieving their goals. But this lady has a different side to the story, for aside from poverty, she faced bullies in school; making each day a double challenge.

A 23-year-old hearing impaired student named Gelume Maceda faced a lot of challenges to finish her studies, as she posted her graduation photo on her Facebook account with a caption that told her life story.

Gelume is now a senior high school graduate of the Technical Vocational and Livelihood or TVL track, under the Computer System Servicing (CSS) of Baybay City Senior High School.
This girl from Baybay City in Leyte shared her sentiment as she grew up without her parents love and left with her 66-year-old grandmother, who is currently taking care of her. She hasn’t seen her mother, father, and siblings and that made her feel unimportant. Gelume had her hopes and dreams that someday her parents would come back for her.

For deaf persons like her, school was never easy. Spending 10 years in elementary made her feel so dumb and because of her disability, students tend to bully her but she never gave up. Though it was painful being bullied in school, she still decided to continue her studies because of her dream to finish her schooling.

Her positivity in life comes from the support of a religious youth organization where she joins actively. Attending with the different programs made her feel belong to the community, as she found a place where she is fully accepted despite her disability.

Now, she joins the summer job program of the government like other youth does every summer to earn money, either to help their parents with the finances or saving the money for tuition for the next school year. Gelume is now hoping that she will be given a chance to go to college and take a business course.

At the end of her message, she thanked all her teachers who had helped her to be what she is today. To the priest and her friend, who accepted her, especially to the person who taught her sign language as her medium of communication.

Success is not determined by your physical ability but through the perseverance of learning and the courage of accepting the challenges in life that would determine who you want to be.