In the Shoe Steps of Abuelita
Beng Climaco has grown from a shy girl to the empowered woman that she is today, serving for causes, which uplift the character and well-being of women and children in Zamboanga city at present. Although it has been commonly said that how people act at present is affected either by the environment, which one has grown up in, or simply by heredity. Beng Climaco is endowed with her qualities because of both. She grew up in a family of public servants and the blood in her veins run from someone who believed in championing the cause of women. This woman is the reason for Beng’s drive to pursue dreams that make her the person she is today, carrying the name which she has also been known as.
Her names Maria Isabelle is a combination of the names of grandmothers from both mother and father’s side of the family. The youngest grandchild of Isabel, her father’s mother, fondly called Abuelita, epitomizes what Woman Empowerment means today. Her grandmother championed the cause of Women, and was victorious together with other women when Act 2711 was approved in 1935, giving women of the Philippines the Right to vote. Thanks to her, Beng now reaps the fruits of being elected into public office as a lady legislator. Continuing Women’s Herstory in Zamboanga City, Beng has implemented Republic Act 7192, the Philippine Plan for Gender and Development as well as other pieces of legislation to protect the Rights of Women and Children in the Philippines.
Beng’s interest in teaching was inherited from her grandmother Isabel. Abuelita founded the Escuela de la Infancia, a nursery school in the community that taught games, grammar and good manners. Way before, her grandmother had a radio broadcast in Spanish. With her fluency in the Spanish language, she won the Premio Zobel for her work in poetry. Teaching was not the only thing that Beng inherited from this great lady, she also got her penchant for writing and a lot more great attributes passed down to her.
One’s greatness can not only be measured by the lives one has touched during their lifetime, but by the legacy, which they are able to leave behind. Even after her time, the example which Beng’s grandmother Isabel has set, stays with the rest of us as she remains an inspiration to be followed in making the lives of the unfortunate and helpless better and giving hope to those who no longer hope. Thus, she continues to live with us today, as her granddaughter Beng continues her life’s work in the causes she serves for.
