Blind Pinay student gets scholarship in US

Despite having one of her senses taken away at a young age, Melaniel V. Vecina overcame the odds and earned the right to the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study (YES) program in the United States.

A report on "24 Oras" on Thursday said Vecina was picked from more than 8,000 applicants with and without disabilities from around the world. She will start her schooling in New York this August.

"Isang napakalaking karangalan po na i-represent yung blind community. Alisin na po yung perception na hindi lahat ng disabled [ay] sa bahay lang," Vecina said.

Other than the scholarship, Vecina has won numerous scholastic awards as well as “Paligsahan ng may K sa Kasaysayan at Kultura ng Pilipinas” history quiz competition by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) in 2014.

The young scholar lost her sight at the age of six from an infection, the report said

"Nung una, talagang napaka-depressing. 'Di namin inaasahan kasi napaka-healthy na bata. Kung ako 'yun baka nawalan na ako ng pag-asa," Vecina's mother, Carmencita, said.

The report said despite her condition, Vecina would still help in performing house chores like taking care of her younger siblings.

With the scholarship, Vecina grew even more determined to become a lawyer like her idol, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. "Mas maipaglaban ko pa po yung karapatan namin na mga persons with disabilities," she said. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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