He only collected a very minimal fee just to cover his transportation expense

 Note: His identity is withheld upon doctors' orders to prevent social stigma due to his condition.

As a very young child, he helped his father and mother at home running errands, doing housework, and other chores. At 7 to 12 years of age, he helped in the Catholic church during services, at one time acting as an assistant parish child sacristan. 

He grew up under the care of his aunts who are all devout Christians. Today, one aunt is an assistant preacher to her Pastor husband who heads a church in Bulacan. Each one of his aunties, being young and unmarried at that time had taken care of young DabbenMel while their mother was away trying to earn a living. 

At age 14 he attended the Jesus Is Lord 3-day religious seminar-workshop for spiritual development. This is a born-again Christian fellowship church. He gained new concepts and new insights on his religious beliefs. His role model were his grandfathers, one of them was a Catholic Bishop. In his childhood, he never lied to his parents, always obeyed them, he never took anything that wasn’t his, and he respected the elders and his peers. 

While watching his father at work (his father was doing illustrations for local comics magazines) he started to develop his own artistic style. While still in Elementary school, he wrote and illustrated his own comic strips and stories for children’s magazines.  Upon completion of High School, he took the qualifying entrance examinations at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The examination was as difficult as the entrance examinations of the main state university, The University of the Philippines, but he passed it with a grade of 97%. He took up Public Relations and Advertising.

When his mother and another business associate set up a computer shop in Manila, he trained there as an apprentice. On his own diligence, he learned how to assemble and repair desktop computers. When the computer shop closed down, he had by then, learned the trade. 

He started a home service shop where he offered PC repair service at home, and several times was called to install local area networks in SME companies. His clients noted his diligent service and became his loyal patrons. He earned the trust of his clients because he educated his clients about computer care, about the nature of PC defects, and also gave them an honest diagnosis of every technical problem. If it was a very simple problem, he only collected a very minimal fee just to cover his transportation expense. If it was a difficult problem he sometimes spent long hours dismantling, cleaning, and fixing the defective parts of the machine. Then his repair job was so good that the customers were able to use their machines for years without any problem. It took years for the customer to call him in again for another repair job. He is an honest and diligent man. He stood by his principle of trustworthiness, and expected other people he was dealing with to show the same values. 

  To further develop his skills, he attended workshops and seminars until he earned a civil service eligibility certification. He also took up technical and vocational courses.  Through his own efforts on continuous learning and skills improvement, he acquired other skills such as website development and management at a young age. 

  Through his honest way of dealing with the customers, he gained their trust and friendship. While servicing their PCs, he taught them how the PC worked and how to take good care of  their gadgets. Gradually, his clients learned how to repair their own computers themselves.  

He also joined a few organizations as a volunteer. One of these was an environmental organization. He was elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Information Technology Committee. He was tasked with preparation of visual- aid materials and the setting up of computers in mission sites. 

He has acquired proficiencies on the following:  Laptop Servicing, Helpdesk, Technical Support, Computer Graphics Illustration, Hand drawing - Cartoon Illustration, Web Design & Development, Customer Service Support
Computer Hardware Troubleshooting/Repair, Preparation of Visual Aid Materials, Computer Software Configuration/Installation, Soft Data Organization, IT Logistical Planning, Data Retrieval, Marketing /Admin. Support, Tutoring /Reports Preparation, Writing. 

At this point in his life, he is badly in need of help for his spinal surgery.