“Courage allows me to face and finish every battle. I know that I was placed on this path for a purpose, and this gives me the courage not to give up. Whatever the cost, is for a greater cause.”
“Peanut girl”, they would call Naomi Rivero back in college, who sold peanuts to her classmates just so she could fund her everyday needs. All her life, Naomi would find ways to get by and earn a living.
At the age of 10, her father, the sole provider of their family, lay comatose due to a health complication and became bedridden thereafter. Due to financial lack, her mother was forced to become a street food vendor, and her infant sister who suffered from a congenital heart disease had to be put up for adoption. She took summer jobs to pay for her tuition in high school. In college, aside from selling peanuts, she asked support from her school to pay tuition in installments— until she became a Real LIFE (reallife.ph) scholar in her 4th year and received the support she needed to complete her studies.
Today, Naomi works for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region IX, a war-torn area, as a Social Welfare Officer handling adoption, foster care, custody and other cases related to child protection. Naomi shares, “My heart beats for the needy, abused, oppressed and vulnerable children. I will never forget that my sister had to be surrendered for adoption because my parents could not afford to pay for her medical needs. It was one of the painful moments of our lives, but now serves as one of my greatest inspirations. I have transformed that painful memory into a personal commitment to become a vessel to help the most marginalized in the Philippines.”
While Naomi finds fulfillment in fighting for social justice in helping individuals, families, and groups cope with their problems, relieve their suffering, and improve attend to their overall well-being, the job takes a tremendous physical and mental toll. She is constantly required to put the needs of others ahead of her own, even as she carries her own personal burdens. Where does she find strength and stability during times of duress and difficulty?
“I confidently face trouble head on because I know that I was placed on this path for a purpose. I have always held onto this verse: ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) I have the courage to go on because I know that for every mission, He will always give me the strength to fulfill it,” Naomi shares passionately.
Like Naomi, will you have the courage to respond to a calling to live your life in the service of others, to those with less, even when it’s difficult? Even when it’s at your own expense?