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 becauseof 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.