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The Story Behind This Viral Photo Of A Boy Studying On The Street Is Heartbreaking And Inspiring

June 30, 2015

If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse.

A photo of a child studying outside a McDonald's in the Philippines is currently making its rounds on social media.

9 year-old Daniel Cabrera was photographed while sitting on his legs - a look of concentration on his face as he writes in an open book. He was using a wooden bench as a table on the sidewalk next to a Mcdonald's in Mandaue City.

Joyce Torrefranca took the picture and posted it on her Facebook account.

Facebook / Joyce Torrefranca

"I hope that this kid will inspire millions of people," she said.

In a telephone interview, Mcdonald's Mandaue Reclamation Area restaurant manager Iris Prak said that Daniel, his mother, and his 7-year-old brother Gabriel usually stay outside Mcdonald's to beg for food and change.

The brothers do their homework there after school because they do not have electricity at home, and the McDonald's drive-thru provides adequate lighting. Prak said that sometimes, the boys' mother works at a nearby food stall, where the family of 3 usually sleeps at night.

"Normally they ask for water, so we give them water," said Prak. She added that Daniel occasionally asks for toys.

"I told him that if he will be able to show us a paper with a star, we'll give him and his brother toys."

Credit: Rappler.