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I was wandering around the plaza of Malinao in Aklan province when I saw this little girl struggling to carry her load. I wasn't sure if she was coming from school carrying her school bag on her head or she was coming from an errand, maybe from the market. She might have been working a a 'school girl' in one of the more affluent families in town. It is common for Filipino families in the province to employ 'school girls,' usually daughters of less well off relatives. They serve as 'errand girls,' helping in the running of the household, usually doing menial task like washing dishes or feeding the chickens etc. They usually stay with the family and are treated as members of the family. The family feeds and clothes them, sends them to school, sometimes up to the collegiate level.