There was an old man who lived with his four children in a village.

The old
man was worried. His children were always quarrelling with each other
because of their differences. Two girls and two boys. Yung isa babae ay
tahimik pero pagkinwestyon mo, lumalaban, yung isa naman ay malawakang
pagiisip pero opinionated . Yung sumunod na lalaki ay mausisa at he has his
own way of understanding and interpreting things while the youngest, a boy
ay submissive sa older siblings but when he believes that he is right, he will
fight for it. Lagisilangnagaawaydahilsakanilangpagkakaibaiba ng ugali at
paniniwala. The old man tried telling them so many times to avoid fighting but
his children would not listen to him.

One day, he called his four children. He gave them a small bundle of sticks,
and asked them to break the bundle into two. The bundle was made of four
sticks. “It’s child’s play,” said the eldest girl. She took the bundle and tried to
break it she was surprised that the sticks in the bundle remained intact. she
used more force. she tried again and again. She started panting for breath.
The bundle would not break. She gave up.

Then her younger siblings tried to break the bundle of four sticks without
success.

Their father smiled and asked them to untie the bundle. He asked each child
to take one stick and try to break it. Each of the child took a stick in hand. In
no time, the sticks were bent and broken.

“A single stick is easily broken. If four sticks come together it is impossible to

break them,” said the old man, giving his sons a meaningful look.

This time the lesson went home. The siblings stopped fighting each other.
They would work together as a team and succeed in doing whatever work
was given to them.

The four children had discovered that unity in diversity is strength.

Unity. Kumbagasamga bodies of water, each of us is a drop peropagtayo ay

pinagsamasama, isatayongmalakingdagat.
Diversity. Just like today, we are all within the same school compound? Pero
ang bawat isa sa atin ay may ibat bang bagay nanakikita. Yung iba, halaman,
pwede ding mga magulang, guro, mga bisita, kaklase o kaya yung crush mo.
Di ba? Pero no matter how these things differ from each other, the beauty of
this school, this community lies on the diversity of its people. Subukan niyong
isipin ang isang school na walang teacher, na walang studynate? O kaya
puro studyante pero walang teacher. School pa rin bas yang matatawag?

Just like in education. Education is the most empowering force in the world.
It creates knowledge, builds confidence, and breaks down barriers to
opportunity.

At para sa ating mga bagets o kahit maging sa mga mas nakakatanda sa

atin, education is the key to open the door to a better life. Tulad na lang nung
lola na viral sa facebook. Sa kabila ng kanyang edad ay pinagsikapan nyang
makapagtapos ng elementarya. Meron din itong si Lolo na taga Mindanao,
gumraduate din sya tulad ninyo. Now, he is a degree holder at the age 64
years old. He is a graduate of bachelor arts in education. Kayang kaya ni lolo
at lola, kayo pa kaya?

Ngayon, from that stories of success, we come to realize this sad reality that
we are facing today. And that is, there are millions of people, particularly
children who will never receive this key to a better life.

May mga bata who are destined to stay locked in cycles of disadvantage and
poverty.
In some parts of the world, students are going to school every day. It’s their
normal life. But in other parts of the world, we are starving for education …
Its like a precious gift. Its like a diamond, para syang isang latest gadget na
iilang tao lang ang nakakabili.

This cannot continue.

The universal right to education for all includes equitable participation in

quality education. Therefore all people, regardless of age, color, including
those from poor households, girls and boys, women and men, disabled
children, indigenous children, migrants, lesbian, gay and transgender
children must have equitable access to quality education. No one should take
this away from us.
Quality education is more than just what you learn from the pages of your
book. It is the education that will enable everyone of us, without exception,
to develop all our talents to the full and to realize our creative potential,
including responsibility for our own lives and achievement of our personal
aims. It is that kind of education which will help you develop all of your
attributes and skills to achieve your potential as human beings and members
of the society.
So how do you do that?
Quality education comes into picture when the diverse characteristics of
students and teachers are unified and utilized in the achievement of learning.
Naturally, sa atin, iniiwasan natin yung mga bagay na hindi naman natin
alam, di ba? Sabi nga nila, don’t talk to stranger. it is the same with the
school. Students have the tendency to reject those who they know nothing
about or those who are far different from them that they are apprehensive to
discover kung bakit may malaki silang pinagkaiba. Doon na ngayon papasok
ang napakaimportanteng roles ng ating mga teachers. They are there in
order to expose us to various cultures, religions, races, gender issues, etc in
order to have a better understanding and a clearer view of why things are
the way they are. Our teachers, our parents are there to help us learn the
value of appreciating other people and the uniqueness of their
circumstances.
Quality education for everyone, as in para sa lahat o inclusive education na
tinatawag is a the fruit of unity in diversity. This kind of education is essential
because through extending our imaginations into another person’s world
who’s experiences we may not share, we learn to empathise and connect.
Indeed, those skills are worth teaching.
This school, our school is a land which symbolizes unity in diversity. Look at
your surroundings, may matangkad, may maliit, may maputi, may
kayumanggi, magkakaiba tayo ng mga mukha, we are a repository of a
multiplicity of classes. We have different religions, beliefs and even the
languages that we speak, pwede ding magkakaiba yan. All of us here today,
teachers, parents, graduates and visitors, we all came from different
backgrounds. We all have our own different stories. Indeed, where we are
right now is a very colourful place. but you know what, there is this one thing
that remains intact, and that is our unity in diversity. Magkakaiba tayong lahat
but we are all here, under the same roof, standing or sitting on the same
ground, breathing the same air and celebrating this one important thing, the
fruit of your unity amidst diversity and that is your education. We are never
really divided then. We merely stand facing each other from various points
and distances at the crossroads of unity and it is the love and passion for
education which gives us so much strength and tolerance to accept the
adversity and promote unity in diversity.

Okay, give it a thought, if you ask a small kid, he will also agree that seeing
a single colour on a sheet does not look that attractive in front of that other
sheet which has a mix of two or more colours. Similarly, any place that has
a combination or a blend of widely spread cultures or traditions seems to
be more of an attraction worldwide in comparison to others.

The power is within us.

Tayong mga estudyante, guro, magulang ang pagmumulan netong kalidad
na education. And I hope that this quality education that you earn and
embody will be put to good use in becoming bearers of peace and unity
despite the differences and diversity.
The challenge is clear, bring understanding and respect to every
circumstance that threatens to destroy the ties that connect, as people and
as a nation.
Nothing is much more beautiful than living the life you want and doing
things you belive in without fear of abuse, harrassment, and cruelty.
Hence if I conclude on my example story, it’s true na yung apat ng
magkakapatid, despite having diversity in belief, attitudes, appearances or
lifestyle, pag ang apat na yun ay pinagbuklod, they have this invincible
power to stop those which threatens to destroy the ties that connect them,
as people and as a team.

So remember ha, no matter how you differ from each other, do not compete.
Just compete with yourself. Hindi mo kalaban yang mga kaklase mo, yang
mga teachers mo, yung mga magulang mo. Hindi niyo sila kailangang
taasan, wala kayong kailangang taasan but youself. We all have our own
uniqueness. We all have our own strength. Kung magaling sya sa ibang
bagay, sigurado, magaling ka din sa iba. Yung galing mo, hindi yan
nababase sa bilang ng medalyang nakuha mo ngayon. Grades don’t define
you but they matter. Uulitin ko, wag kayong makikipagkumpetensya sa iba
kasi if you fight each other, we cannot fight the enemy. When you are alone,
you can only do so litte, when when we are together, we can do so much.
How much more kung gagawin natin to kasama si Lord?

That’s all. Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you for giving me
this opportunity to address you all today.

I am most honoured.