Unceasing love of a young Filipino-Lebanese daughter

"I wake up at 3:00 a.m., go to school at 5:00 a.m., and get home at 11:30 a.m. In the afternoon, at 4:00 p.m., we'll sell rags in Commonwealth Market, Litex, or Payatas."

It is the daily routine of Zainab N. Al Khaled, an 11-year-old Filipino-Lebanese girl from Payatas, Quezon City, who helps her Filipino mother sell rags.

Zainab was eight when they first arrived in the Philippines in 2019. She studies at Commonwealth School and attends Madrasah every Saturday to learn Arabic. She admitted that her first year of school in the Philippines was challenging since she struggled with Tagalog. But she studied and worked hard for it.

She also strives to help her family at a young age because she saw how her mother suffered after the death of her father. Her mother was the second of her father's four wives. As a former OFW in Lebanon, her mother said that it is allowed in Lebanese society to marry at least once, notably if the man can provide for his wife. So here they are in the Philippines, having a Sari-Sari store and making rags for a living.

Zainab is the fourth of seven siblings. She was nine when she started selling rags with her mother. Although she was tired, she was happy to help her mom.

“I usually have an ecobag and a backpack to hold the rags I sell, and when someone buys from me, the weight of the rags I'm carrying lessens,” she said.

"I get tired also, but I am happy when there are many buyers and the rugs sell out. Sometimes it's sad when we don't earn much because there are people who sell rags before us," she added.

Her sales are 5 pesos for 3 pieces of rags, 10 pesos for 5 pieces, and 60 pesos for 25 pieces. She often earns 370 to 400 pesos a day, and she has a share of 50 pesos that she also buries in the school.

For her, selling rags is not an obstacle to enjoying her childhood, studying, or having many friends. But compared to her life now, she prefers their life in Lebanon since it is peaceful and filled with pure air. She also remembered the happy moments she had with her father.

“The happiest thing I experienced with my dad was that he would buy my favorite dessert every time I celebrated my birthday, and he always brought my younger brother and me to play on the playground,” she said.

She formed many lessons and dreams from her experiences. “The lesson I learned is to be generous, even if I only have 5 pesos. I will still share with other people,” she said. “And my dream is to become a teacher to help children. I will build my school for children who cannot attend school. I will enroll them. I will also take care of all the expenses and requirements for them to study,” she added.

She also conveyed her message to other kids, telling them that even at a young age, they need to understand the real purpose and significance of life, especially in terms of loving and helping their mother.

“I hope kids like me work hard and don't put their mothers through too much since life is tough. So, for the children who haven't witnessed their mother's pain, I hope they will, because it's difficult, especially for single mothers or single parents."