"My son couldn’t even spell my name"

Hamsaini Kipli, then a 4th grade student in Barangay North Tapian Bohe, Sapa-Sapa, Tawi-Tawi, did not know how to read. What most distressed his father, Ussam Kipli, was that his son could not even spell his name. Ussam wanted to transfer Hamsaini to a school in Tawi-Tawi’s capital town of Bongao , but knew that his son would not make the grade unless he dramatically improved his reading and writing skills. 

Having had some college units, Ussam wanted to tutor Hamsaini himself. He could only do so, however, when he returned from fishing at night. The problem was it was already too dark then.

That changed when AMORE came and illumined the Kipli household with bright fluorescent lights. Ussam promptly bought a blackboard and started teaching his children at night. Moreover, the children could already continue reading their English books well after dark to further improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary.

In June of 2002, Ussam enrolled Hamsaini in a school in Bongao. He was not expecting much, since schools in the capital town were deemed more competitive. His night teaching sessions paid off, though--Hamsaini is now in 6th grade in Bongao, and is in fact one of the top three students in his class. Best of all, he could now spell his father’s name.