At Home
Nimfa’s family originally lived on the Island of Mindoro in an area called “Batasan” – located on the outskirts of San Jose. The houses were made of natural materials and they were usually built high off the ground on poles to prepare for times of heavy rain when there could be lots of water on the ground. The roofs were made of grass; they would be waterproof most of the time but sometimes in a hurricane or typhoon the wind would be so strong that it would blow the roof off of the top of the house. They would be left with no shelter at all and they would have to simply stay outside in the rain for many hours until the hurricane was over. Then they would have to rebuild their roof as quickly as possible before the next rain. There was no running water – all the water that they needed had to be carried up a big hill from far away using a pole with two buckets on the ends of the pole.Her family were farmers and they had to work very hard. They used Water Buffalo’s (Carabao’s) to help them with the farm work and sometimes even to help with transportation.
Nimfa’s father died in her arms when she was about eight years of age. At that time the family had four children still at home and his death left them without a provider.
At School
Nimfa had to walk a very long distance to school and she had to cross two rivers. In the summer these rivers were not very high but during the rainy season they would be deeper and one of the rivers had crocodiles.
However these crocodiles were a unique species found only in the Philippines – they don’t grow quite as big as some other crocodiles and they do not attack humans. She and her brothers would have to get into the water and swim across the river even though they could often see a crocodile resting on the bank of the river, on the other side. They had to carry a change of clothes in a plastic bag so they could have dry clothes to wear in school.
One of her friends in school was named Elvie. Elvie’s father was an alcoholic and later Nimfa’s mother ended up marrying him. He had several children of his own who became Nimfa’s half-brothers and half-sisters after the death of her father.
Working at 10 years of age
At the age of ten, before her mother remarried and while still a child Nimfa was sent to work at the home of a woman who needed a young girl to help care for her babies. She was paid very little because she was just a child. This family she went to live with had many children. The father was disabled in a wheelchair. The family would pay Nimfa once a month and on that day her mother would show up at the house and demand that her young daughter hand over the full amount to her. Another clear memory she has of this time is that often she would look out the window and see other children her age or younger playing outside and she would wish that she could be out there playing with them because she was a child too but she could not because she had to work. From the time she was ten until she was twelve years of age she would work outside the home in the summers only, but she would return to live at home during the school year to finish Elementary School which lasted till 6th grade. After completing Elementary School at 12 years of age she left to work outside the home full time. At one point she returned to her home to help her mother who was pregnant with her first step-sister from the new marriage. But due to bad conditions in the home she soon needed to leave to go and live and work outside the home again helping mothers who needed help with their children.
At the age of ten, before her mother remarried and while still a child Nimfa was sent to work at the home of a woman who needed a young girl to help care for her babies. She was paid very little because she was just a child. This family she went to live with had many children. The father was disabled in a wheelchair. The family would pay Nimfa once a month and on that day her mother would show up at the house and demand that her young daughter hand over the full amount to her. Another clear memory she has of this time is that often she would look out the window and see other children her age or younger playing outside and she would wish that she could be out there playing with them because she was a child too but she could not because she had to work. From the time she was ten until she was twelve years of age she would work outside the home in the summers only, but she would return to live at home during the school year to finish Elementary School which lasted till 6th grade. After completing Elementary School at 12 years of age she left to work outside the home full time. At one point she returned to her home to help her mother who was pregnant with her first step-sister from the new marriage. But due to bad conditions in the home she soon needed to leave to go and live and work outside the home again helping mothers who needed help with their children.