Four years ago, a 13-year-old girl from the Bajau community in the Philippines found herself on the streets of Lucban. Rita often went out begging to support her family. Her father, a garbage collector, was struggling to provide for the family. Rita Gaviola never imagined she would become a true Cinderella. A single photo, which went viral and opened up a world of possibilities, changed her life forever.
The photographer who changed her destiny with just one click.
On May 15, 2016, photographer Topher Quinto Burgos was in Lucban with his girlfriend to cover the Pahias festival. While searching for the perfect shot, he spotted Rita in the crowd. Topher immediately recognized her rare, natural beauty.
He took a few spontaneous photos of the girl, capturing her pure beauty. Later, Topher decided to post several photos of the girl on his social media page. And, surprisingly, the photos went viral, garnering enthusiastic comments from many online users. Rita was praised for her striking features and impressive figure. Online, she was nicknamed "The Badjao Girl.".
On her path to success, Rita was helped by many people who were impressed by her natural beauty.
While most users praised Rita for her natural beauty, many others urged people to support her and help her escape poverty. Many celebrities, such as Miss World Philippines 2015 Hillary Danielle Parungao, Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong, and Miss International Philippines 2014 Bianca Guidotti, pledged to help Rita reach her true potential. All of this gave Rita a powerful boost and set her on the right path.
Soon she began giving interviews, talking about her sudden fame. She signed modeling contracts with several leading brands and even landed film roles. Rita also became the youngest contestant on the reality show "« Pinoy Big Brother» . All this hype helped her gain a huge number of fans and followers on social media.
Having achieved success at such a young age, Rita is determined to complete her education.
Although the initial hype surrounding Rita Gaviola has died down, she remains a powerful social media star and influencer with over 100,000 followers on Instagram . She also works part-time as a model. However, for now, Rita is focused on completing her education. She believes that a good education is one of the keys to a successful life. Rita dreams of becoming a teacher and encourages her siblings, as well as other children from the Badjao tribe, to obtain a formal education.
Rita works to raise awareness of the poverty and plight of the Bajau people. Her story prompted the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to provide fishing boats to members of the Bajau community.
(Sources: 1, 2, 3)