The Global Filipino Magazine TGFM Issue 21 - January 2022

Working overseas allows one to meet people of different nationalities and cultures. It makes one appreciate and respect other peoples’ beliefs and traditions. The main reason why Judy Ann Siddique opted to work abroad is to help her family financially, aside from exploring career opportunities. Today, Judy Ann works as the senior procurement manager at the mega event Expo 2020 Dubai. Her work entails crucial attention to detail and dealing with suppliers within and outside the country. She may be reaping what she sowed; however, it took some time and a lot of hard work to reach this far. The Filipina embarked on her OFW journey at 19 and a fresh graduate. She did not even get a chance to work in the Philippines as she had already flown to…

For years now, Justine Lynn C. Limocon has been helping local farmers in the Philippines become ‘agripreneurs’ or farmers who are not just experts in production but also business skills. Through the Lamac Multipurpose Cooperative (LMPC), the Filipina business development centre department head manages to help improve small enterprise performance among coop membership to achieve high economic growth and employment, reduce poverty, and meet social objectives. The farming industry in the Philippines is considered to be the poorest sector in the country. According to Justine, the direction of the cooperative with the collaboration and convergence of the private organizations and government agencies is the reduction of poverty and wealth creation by providing the farmers a series of training towards sustainable production, supervised financing, and facilitating market linkage to institutional buyers…

Nelson Bautista was only 24 years old when he took his chances of improving his family’s life by working overseas. Life was difficult then, so he would do something to turn things around. When he was starting his career overseas, he had to do many things to prove his capacity as a nurse. Being in a foreign land takes a lot more to get noticed to reach his goals. “But as I always say, if you have the guts and belief in yourself, nothing can put you down. I always believe that some things happen by chance in this life, but most things happen because we make them happen. We need to take bold steps to achieve what we want out of this life,” he said. Like most overseas Filipino…

One trait that best describes Filipinos is being ‘madiskarte’. Amidst multiple challenges, they are creative in finding opportunities to learn new skills, survive, and improve their lives. Singapore-based Filipina Connie Villaviray’s top priority in life is to support her family’s financial needs. When she was young, she promised to give back to her family to secure a stable job. As the youngest among the siblings, she witnessed how her parents struggled. Her father was an ice cream vendor, while her mother was a simple housewife. Despite the hindrances in life, she graduated, from high school to college, with flying colors. After taking the Mass Communication Major in Broadcasting course, she immediately worked for her college dean’s office as a secretary. There, she provided administrative support and managed students and faculty…

Angelina Santos knew that she would excel in the field of sales as she had sold products and services from credit cards, portable cabins, and many more. From then, she was consistently generating revenues and smashing targets. While in the Philippines, Angelina worked as a secretary and sales agent for insurance at Insular Life. She excelled in her chosen field as she loves selling and helping people by providing them with the right insurance coverage. Her husband was given the opportunity to work in the UAE as a project manager in a manufacturing company, and they decided to move to the country as a family. She launched her career in the country as a simple secretary for a private company in early 2000 while juggling being a mom to three…

The journey for an artist can be challenging, much like for an overseas Filipino worker (OFW). Both challenges have been suffered by the Dubai-based creative leader Eljhon Sanchez. Every time he’s tested by fate, he looks up to God and his sister, who has defied all the odds to guide him, to get through it. In the Philippines, Eljhon tried different types of work before landing a proper job. During his high school senior years, he started working as a draftsman in their drafting department, where he learned to create custom typography for stage setups to be used on school events. He also tried working as a ‘used oil collector’ when helping his classmate’s father, who also helped him land a job in a fast-food chain in Quezon City. “This…