MY THIRD LIFE: A BRIDGE OF HOPE

“I am blessed to be both the 14th and 15th child of the family; and I am
so thankful that God bestowed me three chances to live. What I am
enjoying right now, is my third life”.

Personal Information:
Name: LEZIEL B. SANTOS Age: 35 Birth Date: September 17, 1986
Educational Background:
Elementary: Doṅa Telesfora Elementary School - Batch 1999 – Salutatorian
Secondary: Jagupit National High School - Batch 2003 - First Hon. Mention
Tertiary: Father Saturnino Urios University - 2003 -PESFAScholar/Dean’s Lister
Bachelor of Elementary Education
: Northern Mindanao, Inc. - Academic Scholar

Bachelor of Elementary Education

: Saint Joseph Institute of Technology - 2021
Doctor of Philosophy In Management
Scholastic Achievement:
: District Most Outstanding Employee 2015
: Division of Agusan del Norte Most Outstanding Employee 2016
: Champion GPP Program Implementer (Non-Central School Category)
SY 2020-2021
Narrative:
Being migrants of Agusan del Norte in 1980s from Zamboanga del Sur (due
to existing arm conflict in their hometown), my parents were starting from the
scratch in settling to this province. They were the sole blood of their clans who
transferred a residence into this province; nobody was there to come for their
rescue from nearby places whenever storms strike to the family.
Hence, they were forced to strive on their own causing my childhood days
to be full of challenges and adventure, it was not easy but it was all worth it. I
experienced scarcity of financial and material things but never on the love of my
parents, brother and sisters - if it weren’t for them I would not have survived and
gained my third life.
My childhood and teenage lives were the most challenging yet most
valuable stages of my being. I was three years old when my parents were about to
prepare a casket for my final resting place because they were expecting
me to face death after being bedridden with unresponsive senses which even
medical doctors could not define my sickness. Fortunately, by the grace of God I
was miraculously saved through the persistent efforts of my family. That was
when I got my second life. I never had an idea about all these things until I
was in my high school years when neighbors were talking weird things mentioning
about my dark childhood years, which I didn’t remember anything even a bit of it;
it was also on the same period when I eventually found out we had a brother
from another woman – the woman my father had a relationship with before
meeting my mom (that makes me the 15th child).
Nevertheless, I grew up like other normal children around and thought
everything would go on smoothly not until I turned 17 years old when another
tragic incident happened in 2005. I was on my second year in college when
another catastrophic incident occurred and it forced me to stop from schooling. I
was again laying on bed with weakened body due to loss of appetite consequently
causing me to be very thin and sleepless; worst I was vomiting blood from time to
time until my vital signs gradually faded… it lasted for almost a year. Then again,
everyone thought I was approaching my end line, even me myself I never
expected I would survive. However, God might have stored a mission for me to
fulfill because He again saved me from death and gave me this third life.
With the fighting spirit of my “not-so-big” family in keeping their 14th & 15th
member alive, I gradually gained my health back in 2007 and continued my
pursuit in achieving my goal until I became a teacher. Honestly, this was not
actually my dream profession, I even questioned God for putting me into this
field, wondering what am I here for on my third life ? Why am I
walking unto the path I never wished to be? Until one day I stumbled upon the
answers of all my “WHYs”.

As I continuously walked into the journey of teaching, I gradually uncover

the pieces of the puzzle that completed the entire picture of my existence. God
granted me three chances of living and placed into the field of education NOT for
myself but for others.
When I entered DepEd in 2009, I have seen the different faces of struggles,
poverty and hunger from the eyes of the innocent children under my care. I could
feel the pain, the hardships and the loosened zest brought about by the
experienced challenges at an early age. Seeing them suffer from being victims of
life’s circumstances, at some point I felt helpless, if I only had the superpower to
magically change their situation at an instant, I would have whirled a magic wand
to do it but I was just a newly-hired teacher then.
Eventually, when the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program came, I
happily supported the program through the partnership of the community
facilitator. Being a classroom teacher during those days who took part of the
program implementation, I made sure that the cash grants for health and
education of the children would be spent accordingly by inserting information
drive during Homeroom PTA meetings with the beneficiaries. Also, I took part in
ensuring that the profile and details of the recipients coincides with the school
records by double checking their details in the CV form vis-à-vis to the School
Form 1 and provide necessary advice to the beneficiaries whenever inconsistency
was seen in order to avoid discrepancy that may occur in the future; at the same
time lighten up the load of the community facilitators.
During those times, I thought my exerted efforts were enough to create a
significant impact on the lives of the beneficiaries. Yet, those were just little things
compared to the real scenario. Five years later, I was reassigned to handle
Alternative Learning System (ALS), an intervention program of the Department of
Education to eradicate illiteracy among every Filipino Children, Youth and Adults
outside the formal school framework. With ALS, I was able to discover the
commonly neglected social issues involving out-of-school children, youth and
adults such as teenage pregnancy, drugs and alcohol addiction, child labor and
the like from which when not taken any attention would lead into Juvenile
Delinquency and Children-In-Conflict with the Law [CICL].
Victims of these circumstances were usually the poorest of the poor, those
school dropouts who are losing hope to education due to varying reasons that
may include financial constraints, needed to help family earn a living and distance
from home to the existing school. With these realities in life shown at my face, I
realized that our brothers and sisters in the marginalized sectors do not only need
an intervention program for education but of equal importance, they also need an
immediate answer to uplift their quality of living, especially the 4Ps beneficiaries.
Thus, being partner of the 4Ps program, I extended my role from (1)
ensuring proper utilization of their cash grants through information drive; and (1)
ensuring accurate and correct information system of children’s school and CV
records; into linkages to other government and non-government agencies in
order to provide the beneficiaries with relevant and proper intervention activities
that would empower in gaining necessary knowledge and skills to uplift their way
of living in addition to the assistance given by the 4Ps program. (These initiatives,
innovations and intervention programs are elaborated in the recorded video).
To cite an specific innovation project, I anchored to the main goal of the
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program which is to break the inter-generational
cycle of poverty by fostering change In behavior among parents to invest in their
children's and their own future and initiated ALSa Buhay Project together with
the leadership of our former district supervisor, Mr. Florante A. More. This project
is a triad effort between the Local Government Unit of Tubay and the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) aiming to provide basic
livelihood skills training to the 4Ps beneficiaries.
Said project was purposely initiated to empower not just our children but
also and most importantly their parents so that by the time they graduate from
the 4Ps program, they would not only be equipped with functional literacy but
also with the basic life skills that would help them uplift their living standard and
consequently break the cycle of poverty in the family.
 As to date, I am again reassigned into handling a school for two years now
(pandemic times) yet, I never ceased from supporting the 4Ps program. The
strengthened partnership between me, as a teacher, and the program never
faded even if the Municipal Link or Community Facilitators are changing due to
reassignments because it is my commitment to serve along with other workers in
achieving the goal of the government.
Looking at my personal and professional life journey with the Alternative
Learning System and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), I could say that
my existence has a purpose. God has intentionally put me to this field of service in
order to provide second chances to those school dropouts and Children-In-
Conflict-with-the-Law to grab their share in the free “Education for All”.
Moreover, and most importantly, to pave ways of opportunities to the less
fortunate individuals like the 4Ps beneficiaries in getting their equal share to
education and in gaining access unto other programs and activities that would
help in uplifting their quality of living.
In conclusion, I could say that I found the answer to all my questions in the
lives of other people that need my services in partnership with the concerned
agencies. In other words, God has given me this third chance to live for me to
become “A Bridge of Hope” to the families and individuals who have seemingly
losing it.