Your Stories

Eugenio and Sally Pulumbarit, an engineer and an hr & admin assistant in Abu Dhabi in their forties, have big dreams for their four children back home in the Philippines. When times were hard for them and they were presented an opportunity to work overseas, Eugenio Pulumbarit quit his job in a leading construction company, determined to make it in a foreign land and give his children a brighter future. Sally soon followed him, leaving the care of their four young children to her parents in Novaliches.

“Each time we call our children from our cellphone to the house landline, or sometimes using the PC with webcam, it hurts us to see that they’re going through their formative years without us by their side. But these are small sacrifices compared to what we can give them now that we have enough to send them to the best schools,” Eugenio said.“We’re very lucky that we were given a chance to work here, even if the culture and the people are so much different from ours. It’s good that I’m also here with my husband so that we can support and be with each other in those times when we really miss our children,” adds Sally. Today, the couple has somehow cured their homesickness because of the influx of many Pinoy OFWs in UAE. During their free time and special occasions, they meet with them and exchange news from home. In a few years, the Pulumbarits hope to come back home to finally be reunited with their children.

A physical therapist in California, Jenny Rivera has always had dreams of making it big. The Pili, Camarines Sur native is presently working in an elderly home in a Californian suburb. Her desire to make it in the US is fueled mainly by her desire to travel the world, and also to support her aging parents and help her nephews and nieces back home. Being single, she has always doted on her little pamangkins. Even now that she is in the States, she still sends them toys and gifts through the Internet.

Now that she has been staying in the US for five years, the 32-year old Bicolana has traveled to many countries whenever she is permitted to take breaks. She also goes home to the Philippines once a year to spend time with her family. Being able to call home whenever she wants makes her happy, because it makes her feel as if she never left.

“I like catching up on the latest showbiz news whenever I call my folks. I also like talking to my nephews and nieces whenever I feel lonely. Being in the US has made me the independent woman that I am. Every single day, I thank God for the opportunities given to better my life and my family’s.”

A Filipina caregiver in Manitoba, Canada, Melinda Legaspi has come a long way from being a shy Bulakeña helping her mother in their small sari-sari store.

Now at the age of 40, she has been able to buy her parents a house, send all her three siblings through college and buy herself luxuries she only used to dream about. Being the breadwinner of the family, Melinda has had it rough since the beginning, but she doesn’t complain.

“My parents did a great job at raising all of us four children. Even if we didn’t have that much, we were a happy family and we were content with what we had. That is why I am persevering here in Canada to give back to my parents the life of comfort and ease they deserve,” she said.

Melinda sends monthly remittances to her family for their expenses from the nearest Filipino remittance center. Especially now that her parents are reaching their twilight years, she provides more than enough for their medical expenses. She says that sometimes, while caregiving for elderly Canadians, she thinks of her mother and father who she should be taking care of back in the Philippines. Melinda says she has gotten very interested in Philippine real estate, and has invested in properties back home so that when it’s time for her to come back, she can just rent out apartments while seeing to her parents.