by Patricia Ibay

It was a typical afternoon in Katipunan. The streets were littered with beeping cars and roaring motorcycles. The traffic was as bad as it always was. Vehicles were hurrying, probably parents fetching their children from Miriam College or Ateneo De Manila University.

Jing Vega was in the same situation. She was on the way to pick up his son from school but the busyness of the streets made it almost impossible. Cars were barely moving and all she could do was wait and stare. A few moments later, the movement of the traffic sped up and before she knew it, she arrived in Ateneo. It was no longer a surprise, but even the school was jam-packed with cars and school buses. She drove around to the area of grade schoolers. There were other kids waiting to be fetched and cars waiting for their passengers.

She parked on the side of the road with the sign “Unloading Area” and gets off the vehicle. Her eyes carefully searched for his son from the crowd of boys. His son soon appeared from the group of students and spotted his mom immediately. When she was on her way to go back to her car, a screech of wheels and the roar of a car were heard. Before Jing could see what was happening behind her, there was a strong force that hit her back and pushed her down to fall. Pain painted over her weary face as she failed to balance herself and fell with a thud. There was blood from somewhere. She was too shaken up to notice that it was from her and that she was bleeding.

A thousand thoughts were coming in and out of her mind. She didn’t even know what really happened to end up like this. She was so close to fainting but she knew that she had to let her family know. Wordlessly, her wounded fingers searched for her phone in the pocket of her pants. The cold metal of the phone made her retract her hand but as soon as she let go, she held on again. She dialed her cousin who is a doctor, and told him to call for an ambulance. After, her cousin, she called her husband and friends to make them aware of her accident. As she dropped the phone and finally acknowledged her surroundings, there were school staffs that were coming near her and guards calling for an ambulance. With that, she knew that she was in good hands.

After the incident, she woke up already in the hospital. She had bandages on almost every part of her body. She wasn’t able to neither stand nor sit on her own. The doctors have told her the impact of the car was really strong and that she was lucky to still be alive. They also told her that she will have to undergo 6 months of physical therapy. Jing knew that she needed to be strong, for her family, friends and herself.

The hardest part of her recovery was not being able to do the things she used to do. She couldn’t drive and do errands. She had to continue her therapy and gain her strength back. If she pushed herself to do these things again, it may end up in disaster and even more time in physical therapy which was clearly not what she was going for.

As months passed, Jing became more prayerful. She often prayed for guidance as she goes through these obstacles in life and for the strength to continue her therapy. Of course, there were times of frustration and mental exhaustion, but she knew that she had to do this for her family and to finally go back to the way it was before. She became mentally alert after her accident. She became more observant of her surroundings and senses.

IBAY (or the International Biliungal Academy Yaounde) is Cameroon's only dedicated Environmental Science School. In the Academy, you can find the Higher Institute of Environmental Sciences (HIES), which offers Bachelors and Masters Programs in Environmental Science. (x) Still growing (and in need of support!), the current campus is comprised of 30 classrooms, 2 laboratories, a computer lab (with satellite internet connection), a library, and a 2000 m2 plot available for practical lessons. (x) 

See the large glass windows on the second floor? That's the library where students can use school provided reference materials to assist in their studies. Unfortunately most of the shelves in the library are empty... and that's something which needs to be fixed. UCLA has done this before, but one book drive doesn't mean the need has been met.