When we met 19-year-old Jovie Erillia, mother to two-year-old Jhon Kyle, at her home in Santa Margarita in Samar, Philippines, she was living with her partner and his family. She had just turned 16 when she realized she was pregnant, the only one among her friends to face a pregnancy while still in school. “Shocked”
San Isidro, Philippines — A single mother and a teacher, Vanessa shares a tiny house in the village of San Isidro in central Philippines with her two children, mother, stepfather and six younger brothers. And she is the happiest she has been in six years. After enduring years of emotional and verbal abuse from her
Bulusan, Philippines – Echoing through the small mountainous community, or barangay, of San Antonio is the high-pitched cry of a nine-month-old infant. The sound can be traced to a thatched-roof shanty that the infant shares with his two-year-old brother and his parents, Arlene and Anthony Gambas, along with two other families. Arlene, 19, admits she
