Meet 19-year-old Filipino Agriculture Scholar Rachelle
Rachelle is 19 years old and lives with her mother in Antipolo City, Philippines. Growing up was not always easy for Rachelle. Her father was verbally abusive to her and her mother and struggled with alcohol misuse. Sometimes, her parents’ fights would make it impossible for her to complete her schoolwork. Rachelle has one sister who lives with their aunt. Three years ago, Rachelle’s parents separated and her father does not contribute to the household finances. Her mother earns a low income in a shoe factory and to help augment the family income Rachelle took a job working at McDonalds. Rachelle’s income pays for most of the household bills. Her mother did not have the finances to be able to afford university or the required learning materials for Rachelle so when the scholarship opportunity presented itself, Rachelle jumped at the chance. Rachelle decided to study Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship in order to gain the skills and experience to launch her own agribusiness one day:
“Agriculture in the Philippines is being left behind. There is always a connotation that farmers are inferior, but people don’t realise how much we rely on agriculture. I want to make change and help improve the agriculture sector. I firmly believe everyone deserves nutritious food at affordable prices. Whenever I see children in the streets that are malnourished I am heartbroken. They are my primary inspiration for choosing this course. I have a very simple dream: that the country’s economy will be fair for everyone where no one struggles in meeting their basic needs. I think I can achieve this by working in the field of agriculture.”
Rachelle
