New year. New beginning. New home.
A housewife studying to become a teacher is the winner of a new house from Unang Hirit’s “UH20:Bagong Bahay sa 2020.” She is 40-year old Jenny Cañaveral from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Jenny is taking up Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. She is married to Joeben Cañaveral, a construction worker, and they have two children: Jhaveson Mark and Jheawel Mae.
“Mula bata ay hindi ako nakaranas na magkaroon ng sariling bahay at lupa. Ngayon, nakikitira kami sa lupang pinababantayan sa aking biyenan. Nakatira kami sa barong-barong. (Growing up, I never experienced living in a house of our own. Right now, we are living in a shanty in a lot being looked after by my in-laws.),” Jenny narrated in her letter to Unang Hirit.
Jenny’s letter is just one of thousands of letters received by Unang Hirit last December in celebration of the show’s 20th anniversary. The entries were screened and narrowed down. The finalists were judged based on the following criteria: story content (50%), emotional impact (30%), and clarity of the narrative (20%) for a total of 100%.
According to the panel of judges, what made Jenny’s story stand out is her drive to do something about her situation and not merely depend on others, “Gustong-gusto kong magkaroon ng sariling bahay kaya kahit may edad na pumasok ako sa paaralan sa pag-asang magbago ang takbo ng aming buhay. (I really want to have my own house so even if I’m already old, I decided to go back to school in the hope of improving our lives.),” she added.
Bria Homes President and COO Mr. Red J. Rosales was on hand to present the ceremonial key to the model house to Jenny and her family. Jenny will get to choose her new house from Bria Homes’ many locations so that they don’t have to live far from their current livelihood and their children’s present school.
Aside from the new house, Unang Hirit also gave Jenny and her family a new television, refrigerator, microwave oven, sack of rice and a housewarming party.
The awarding of the house and lot caps Unang Hirit’s celebration of its 20th year of providing news, entertainment and Serbisyong Totoo to its viewers. It is the country’s longest-running morning show.
