The Making Of A Survivor

On the 20th of October 1992, while a storm was violently raging outside, a bouncing baby girl was born to Joy Basmayor. The mother, just turning 18, considered it a blessing, although the father did not even bother to give support before and during delivery.

The baby, who was born premature, extremely fragile, and had fever at that time, had to go through a blood transfusion procedure. Since the survival of that little baby was put to a test and was therefore considered miraculous, the doctor suggested that they name her Rosario.

To avoid financial inhibition, the baby had to be taken out of the hospital although she was not yet perfectly well. Since they had to travel to Leyte by sea for 6 to 8 hours, improvisations were made for someone too young to travel that long – glass bottles filled with warm water served as some sort of incubation apparatus. There was no electricity and no lights when they arrived in Leyte. Relatives took care of both mother and child and later accepted them as their own family.

Rosario was weak and often had to be brought to a hospital for medical attention.  The economic situation the family was in, compelled them to wonder whether she should be put up for adoption. Her mother disagreed, so when the baby reached the age of one, decided to work abroad. Rosario was left to the care of her grandmother.

The grandmother was a market vendor; oftentimes she would let others near her stall look after the baby. In particular, a husband and wife who had no daughter of their own, treated her as such, and their two sons considered her as their baby sister. She grew up thinking them as her real family, and called the woman “mama” and the man “papa”. She remained sickly and was often brought to the hospital because her fever was usually followed by convulsions, becoming less pronounced until she reached age of three. It was at this time that the mother came back home.

To regain her daughter’s affection, the mother saw to it that they spent all the time with one another, gave her what she wanted and all she needed, and together they traveled and attended special occasions. When Rosario reached the age of six her mother got married secretly. Their bonding time suffered, and when the new infant came, her personal animosity for the baby and the father, grew.

The attention given to the baby made Rosario, young as she also is, quite miserable, more so when it cried a lot. This was fueled even more when the siblings of the stepfather, although hardly accepting that their brother married a single parent, came to live with them.

The whole household relied on the business put up by her mother, which management Rosario ably assisted in. This exposed her to the real world of commerce, which proved very valuable to her at school.

She had spent her elementary and high school in Saint Joseph College in Leyte, always got good grades and belonged to the pilot section, for which she was always getting complements from everyone. At age ten, she became more responsible and able to control her temper and attitude.

Likewise, she started to understand her life situation, and realized that her sister, even at a very young age, loved her unconditionally. She had proven this when the sister reserved for her a bigger piece of chocolate although she was not even supposed to know its presence.

She considered high school the most colorful part of her life, when she explored her inner self and discovered her own weaknesses and strengths. Consistently in the star section, where the teacher’s attention was focused on, she was involved in different academic and athletic activities. She had her moments of triumph, and also her moments of desperation, which revealed who her real friends were.

She is currently studying in the University of San Carlos taking up Bachelor in Science in Managerial Accounting. This compels her to stay in Cebu City, solely supported by her mother, the first time that she is separated from her. She knows she is able to handle this kind of lifestyle inasmuch as she was trained in high school how to be independent and take care of herself.

Having started life with a struggle, Rosario stands strong and firm to face any trial or tribulation life will bring.