Ang Nilakbay ni Hilmarie | 65 Years ng Kuwentong Kapamilya
WRITTEN BY NINA DE SAGUN AND EDITED BY MICHAEL RAMOS | April 26, 2019
A small nipa hut tucked in the remote hills of Bulacan has a wall adorned with medals, endowing the otherwise ordinary shack with elegance, pride and dignity. Only a sawali divider told you where the bedroom starts and the rest of the house begins. This is the humble home where Hilmarie Nimo lived.
Growing up in a family of seven children and with parents struggling to earn sufficient income, Hilmarie’s dream of becoming a lawyer seemed so farfetched despite her passion and love for learning. “Hilmarie then was only 11 years old; but already so driven as a learner. But her father could not afford to send her to high school,” shared Doris Nuval, Head of Access and Community Engagement of Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI)
Given the difficult circumstances, Hilmarie realized that the only way she could continue her education was if she became the valedictorian of her batch as it would make her a scholar in high school.
But going to school is a three-hour struggle for Hilmarie Nimo and her siblings. They wake up as early as three in the morning to go down the mountain and cross two rivers. Sometimes, she had to carry her sibling on her back as she treads the path going to school. And yet, they were still late for class which made it difficult for her to catch up with her lessons. “Noong grade 5 ako, madalas na ako mag-absent sa klase kasi nga malalyo ang bahay. Mahirap kasi minsan walang baon, so hindi ako makapasok. And may kailangan akong alagaan na kapatid so lagi akong absent,” Hilmarie added.
Dreams come true. Hilmarie Nimo (center) graduating from law school with Doris Nuval (left) and Rina Lopez Bautista (right).
Things sterted to change for Hilmarie when she crossed paths with Doris Nuval and KCFI President and Executive Director Rina Lopez-Bautista. “We met her when she was grade 5 at Talbak Elementary School, where we had installed a TV and a satellite dish to receive the Knowledge Channel. Here, she voraciously watched Knowledge Channel to supplement and compliment her classroom learning,” Bautista proudly shared.
“Noong malapit na iyong final examination, I was not prepared to take that exam…so ano gagawin ko para maka-review para sa exam? Noong time na iyon, pinanood kami nang teacher namin ng Knowledge Channel… I think that was Mathtinik. Iyong isang topic doon sa palabas sa Knowledge Channel ay topic din namin sa school, so even without the discussion of the teacher, naintindihan ko how to solve a simple problem. Nagamit ko natutunan ko sa exam kasi lumabas iyong same question as what I saw sa television. I got the highest score in my exam and that time I was running for valedictorian,” Hilmarie recalled.
Since then, Bautista and Nuval supported Hilmarie’s education up until she graduated from law school last April 25, 2016. Last year, she finally passed the bar exam making her a full-fledged lawyer today.
Watch her complete story as part of ABS-CBN’s 65 Years of Kuwentong Kapamilya.