A 32-year-old vegetable vendor graduates from college, becoming yet another proof and inspiration that age truly doesn’t matter if you really want to reach for your dreams.
Vegetable Vendor Graduates from College
For many Filipinos, poverty is not really something new. Millions of young people don’t go to school because of financial issues. A lot of young people, even in elementary age, had to find a job to help support themselves or their families.
Sadly, many of them feel too shy or even embarrassed to go back to school because of their situation.
That’s why the story of 32-year-old vegetable vendor Liezel Nudalo Formentera reverberated in the online community.
Already a mother, the vendor from Cebu continues to dream of providing a better life for her family. She knows that the only way she can do that is to pursue her education so she could find a better job.
Back in 2012, she decided to enroll with the DepEd’s ALS program (Department of Education’s Alterative Learning System).
Through ALS, she didn’t have to do her elementary and high school years in school with the young children.
In 2018, she was able to graduate from high school and begin her college education.
Formentera studied Bachelor of Industrial Technology Major in Computer Technology at the Cebu Technological University, a degree that she finally completed in August 2022.
It was difficult juggling her studies with finding money as a vegetable vendor and being a mom to her three kids. Yet this inspiring mom tried her best even in the lowest points in her life.
“Wala po pala talagang edad sa edukasyon. Grabeng saya ko po. Hindi ko po sukat akalain na matagumpayan ko po ang mga pangarap ko. Hindi ko po sukat akalain na dininig ng mahal na panginoon ang panalangin ko. Hindi ko po sukat akalain na makapagtapos ako ng kolehiyo,” she told The Philippine STAR.
“Ganito pala ang buhay kapag may pagsubok ka manalangin ka lang sa mahal na panginoon darating ang pagpapala mo sa hindi mo inaasahan. Para po ‘yun sa mga anak ko at sa pangarap ko nga na maging successful po ang pamilya ko po. Ang mga anak ko po ay para po di sila makaranas ng kahirapan katulad ko.”
Every time she felt like giving up, she turned to her kids for inspiration.
“May mga panahon po nun na sobrang napapagod po ako minsan, dahil may anak po. Minsan po mahirap talaga sa pinansyal. Sa panahon po ng kahirapan parang sumusuko na po ako sa pagaaral at pinupursugi ko po ito dahil po sa mga anak ko para may magandang buhay sila sa kinabukasan po,” she explained.
It’s a good thing that her husband, a farmer, supported her dream and helped pave the way to her success.
She wants to continue her studies to become a teacher, but it’s already fantastic that she was able to earn her first degree.
Best Way to Earn While Selling Vegetables
Some tips to earn more while selling vegetables:
- Grow your own vegetables
- Sell online in local Facebook, barter, or marketplace groups and pages
- Find direct suppliers to get the vegetables at cheaper prices
- Try selling in bazaars
- Get a stall in the public market
- Open a stall in front of your home or in an area with high foot traffic
- Create innovative products with your vegetables
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