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.