13-yo boy goes viral for taking care of his younger siblings after their parents left

After his mother passed away due to an illness and his father abandoned their family, 13-year-old Manuel Olivares had no other choice but to act as parents for his three younger siblings.

The four siblings live together in a crowded space of a small rented room in Trece Martires, Cavite.

Manuel is the fourth out of seven siblings but he became the eldest when all of his elder siblings left their home.

Every day, Manuel would wake up early to cook for his siblings’ breakfast and to send them to school.

Usually, he only cooks whatever food they have left and it is not uncommon for the siblings to have rice and some soy sauce on the side since that is all they can afford.

After sending his younger siblings to school, Manuel would go to his neighbours to ask them to let him pick some mangoes to sell at the market.

On his lucky day when he is allowed to pick some fruits, he can earn Php 100 (US$ 1.96) for a sack of mangoes. Manuel then usually uses the money to buy some rice for him and his siblings.

However, when he is not allowed to pick some mangoes, the teenage boy would wander around the neighbourhood and scavenge the trash for some recyclables that he can sell at the junk shop.

With his uncertain luck, there have been many times when the boy did not earn enough to buy some food for his siblings.

Luckily, their kind-hearted neighbour, Neptuno “Nick” Jabonita who often gives some food to the children felt that he could do more to help the poor family.

Nick then sought help from other his friends and it was Michael Abucayan who insisted the younger siblings to be enrolled in a school.

They managed to get some used school uniforms for the siblings after some parents noticed that the children had to wear the same uniform for three consecutive days but it was not enough.

Through the help of journalist Julius Babao, they managed to set up “Mission Possible”, a charity program to help the siblings kickstart their lives.

Sacks of rice and various foods were given to Manuel and his siblings through the program and the children also received foam mattresses, pillows, cabinet, and some supplies so they could open their own mini convenience store to earn a living.

Thanks to their neighbour Nick, Manuel now no longer needs to ask for sympathy from his neighbours to sell some mangoes to buy some food for his siblings.

It may be hard but we believe that Manuel will do a great job as a brother and a parent to his younger siblings.

Watch this video of Manuel and his siblings here.