74 Year Old Grandma Dives To Catch Money Thrown By Ferry Passengers

Despite her age and the dangers of diving, lola Maria does this for her grandchildren.
When we reach old age, most of us would want a life of relaxation. As we get old, many people would want to enjoy a life watching our grandchildren grow, while we live the rest of our lives being surrounded by our loved ones. But for 74-year-old Maria Tequillo, working for her family is still the best thing to do.
GMA Network’s documentary series “Front Row” episode entitled “Mga Barya ni Lola Maria (The Coins of Grandma Maria)”, touched so many hearts. The story of lola Maria has reached thousands of netizens, and is inspiring them in so many aspects.

Despite her age, lola Maria ‘works’ for her grandchildren. At the break of dawn, she usually uses her small boat to go to the Lucena pier and ask the ferry passengers to throw at her some money. This is when she shows her abilities: she dives for the money thrown into the water. She collects about P100-200 a day, just enough for a few kilos of rice, some coffee, and maybe a few eggs for ulam (food).

But since she has been doing this for years, her body is starting to falter. She noticed that she has a hard time breathing, especially when rising up from the waters and trying to get on the boat again. She loses coins as her eyesight is getting weaker by the day. She hopes that there will come a time that she doesn’t need to dive anymore, and run a small business instead.