Presscon?

Standing tall and proud

One of the participants, 17-year-old Maria Jovelyn Andia, finds blogging a whole new world where she can express herself and connect with other people.

But this IT freshman from the Unibersidad ng Maynila admits she fell in love with photography and is determined to further hone her skills to be a professional photographer someday.

Andia is also looking forward to the time when her friends would be able to read her blogs and get inspired by her simple stories.

“Sa Smokey Mountain 1 (the original dumpsite which has undergone major transformation) may mga Internet shops din. Sa isang building (permanent housing where she lives) may apat na internet shops kaya mahilig mag computer ang mga bata. Seven years old pa lang, may Facebook na. Sa pag-aaral namin nitong mga iba’t ibang skills sa workshops, nais ko na mai-share din ang kaalamang ito sa mga bata sa amin,” she discloses.

Rameses Banzuela Jr., meanwhile, wants to change the negative image associated with residents of Smokey Mountain through blogging and through his achievements.

“Pag taga Smokey Mountain ka, ang naiisip kaagad ng mga tao, sobrang baho at dumi sa lugar mo. Pero ako po, ipinagmamalaki ko na taga Smokey Mountain ako. Gusto ko ishare sa pagblo-blog na hindi lang puro kahirapan at puro pangit ang nakikita sa amin. Dito masaya ang mga tao kahit may problema.Balang araw pag nag tagumpay na ko sa tulong ng mabubuting tao, maipapakita ko na dapat din ipagmalaki ang mga tulad namin, na may karapatan din kami gaya ng iba,” ends 15-year-old
Banzuela