With little on their plates, Sultan Kudarat pupils carry big dreams to school

ASM, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
October 13, 2026

Photo courtesy: KMJS | Shyrdene Kate Mantalaba Santander FB page

SULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines — What began as an ordinary lunch break at a small mission school in Sultan Kudarat became a story that touched many Filipinos – one about children who continue showing up for school despite having very little.

Volunteer teacher Shyrdene Kate Mantalaba Santander, known as Teacher Kate, noticed several pupils at Megpanga SULADS Mission School in Kulaman carrying old milk cans that had previously been given to them.

Curious about what the children had placed inside, she opened the containers.

Inside was their lunch: cooked rice sprinkled with salt to eat.

But the cans were already heavily rusted.

Teacher Kate said the children did not realize the containers were no longer safe to use. They were not deliberately ignoring the danger. To them, the old cans were simply something available that could hold the food they brought to school.

The situation became even more poignant when two pupils reportedly approached her during lunchtime and asked whether she had extra soy sauce they could use as viand.

They had rice. They just had little else to eat with it.

Teacher Kate immediately advised the children not to use the rusted cans again. Until they could get safer containers, she suggested using banana leaves to wrap their food instead.

But what stayed with her was not only what the children were carrying.

It was the realization that some of her pupils were coming to class every day despite lacking things that many families consider ordinary – a proper lunchbox, a complete meal, clean water, comfortable clothes and other basic necessities.

In a heartfelt Facebook post, Teacher Kate shared what she had witnessed and reflected on the determination of children growing up with limited resources.

“There are still many children in the countryside who grow up with very little, yet they continue to come to school, learn, and do their best with what they have,” she wrote.

Her post eventually reached a much wider audience. *Teacher Kate’s account and the story of her pupils were featured on GMA Network’s Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS), bringing national attention to the children’s circumstances and the realities faced by some families in remote communities.*

The feature also put a human face on an issue that can easily remain hidden behind classroom doors. For some children, getting an education does not only mean traveling to school or completing assignments. It can also mean finding a way to bring whatever food is available and making do without basic items others rarely have to think about.

Published accounts said Teacher Kate later brought the pupils to the municipal center for medical attention and anti-tetanus vaccination as a precaution.

For her, however, the experience became as much a lesson in gratitude as it was a call for compassion.

She reflected that a simple meal, safe food container, clean water and the opportunity to study are privileges not every child experiences in the same way.

The children’s circumstances should not have to be the price of their education. Yet their determination remains difficult to overlook.

Despite having little on their plates and limited resources at home, they continued to arrive at school ready to learn.

And behind them was a teacher who noticed – and cared enough to share their story.

What began with rice inside a rusted milk can ultimately became something larger: a reminder to appreciate everyday comforts, to see the struggles that often go unnoticed, and to extend kindness where it is needed most.

They bring rice in rusted cans, but never leave their dreams at home | Shyrdene Kate Mantalaba Santander

They bring rice in rusted cans, but never leave their dreams at home | Shyrdene Kate Mantalaba Santander

They bring rice in rusted cans, but never leave their dreams at home | Shyrdene Kate Mantalaba Santander