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<\/p>\nThanks to GMA Network\u2019s hit morning TV show Unang Hirit (UH), a family\u2019s dream has come true: to live in a brand-new house among the living.<\/p>\n
Nelly Baladad has been sharing space with the dead for two decades. She lives with her family in a shanty atop a stack of graves inside Pasay City\u2019s public cemetery.<\/p>\n
Thus, when UH announced its \u201cBagong Buhay, Bagong Bahay, Year 4,\u201d Nelly\u2019s husband encouraged her to send an entry. Little did Nelly know when she sent her letter to Unang Hirit that her story would be chosen from thousands of other entries.<\/p>\n
Last April 3, UH surprised Nelly\u2019s family with a brand-new home.<\/p>\n
Amongst the cemented tombs in the cemetery stands the Baladad family\u2019s home made from scraps of wood and tarpaulin. Nelly\u2019s husband, Rino, works as a janitor that pays him minimum wage. Because Rino\u2019s income can barely support their needs, Nelly works as a grave cleaner to help provide for their two children, especially since their eldest son has cerebral palsy.<\/p>\n
The family of four sleeps in a cramped space that does not have a bathroom and running water. They use the deep well and the public restroom inside the cemetery.<\/p>\n
Adding to their already challenging lives is the need to demolish their house yearly. Every November, when people flock to the cemetery to commemorate All Souls Day, they would tear down their house and find shelter in nearby mausoleums whose owners are kind enough to let them stay.<\/p>\n
The Baladad family was told that they were among the contest finalists and that they were going to be interviewed that morning. Unknown to them, they were in for a life-changing surprise.<\/p>\n
UH hosts Susan Enriquez and Shaira Diaz interviewed them about their hardships before announcing that they were not just a finalist, but the actual winners of the brand-new house and lot!<\/p>\n
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\u201cSobrang saya ko po. Hindi ko po talaga alam kung anong nararamdaman ko ngayon,\u201d says Nelly in between tears.<\/p>\n
Unang Hirit hosts also surprised the family with various other gifts such as groceries, supplies for Nelly\u2019s son Ranier, bicycle for her husband Rino, and a small start-up meat products business.<\/p>\n
This is the fourth time that UH has given away a brand-new house for its \u201cBagong Buhay, Bagong Bahay\u201d promo.<\/p>\n
\u201cMixed emotions lagi kapag nagbibigay ng award sa mga kapus-palad na kababayan natin. Sila kasi ang mga taong tila ba kasama sa naging kapalaran ang kahirapan ng buhay kaya tanging panalangin ang pinanghahawakan. At sa sandaling nakamit nila ang mga pangarap sa pamamagitan ng Unang Hirit, alam mong dininig ng Diyos ang kanilang panalangin\u201d says Susan, echoing the sentiment of the whole UH barkada.<\/p>\n
The promo was launched last December 2022 and since then, thousands of entries were sent in, among them stories about the challenges that families faced after surviving disasters including typhoons, floods, and fires. Each of these was thoroughly read and evaluated by the UH team under the supervision of the Department of Trade and Industry or DTI.<\/p>\n