If you’re not yet an OFW today, are you already thinking or having plans already of working abroad?
Two weeks back, a good friend of mine migrated together with her family to Canada. She’s a marketing specialist here in the Philippines and is getting a salary far better than mine but still decided to seek for a greener pasture in a cold country. She was offered four times higher or more than what she was getting in her previous job.
Yesterday, another frined, the one who influenced me into teaching and is now a SPED teacher, was telling me his daughter is urging him to reside in Canda as she already got her permanent residency status. My friend has somewhat decided to pursue his teaching career there instead of practicing it here. Undoubtedly, SPED teachers abroad are like nurses who are highly paid and in-demand.
Today, many of my friends are working overseas and when I am engaged in a live chat with them, I can feel their sadness for leaving their families in the Philippines and the challenges of living in another land, but I can also feel their strong conviction about surviving their loneliness because of the financial gains of working abroad.
For a long time in the past, I have resolved that working abroad is a viable option for me since my meager income as an ordinary employee can’t even send my only son to a good private school (unless I would consider loans during enrollment and pay it on a staggard basis year-round, which I often do). To concretized my plans, I studied education with a hope that after gaining some experience, I can work overseas as a college professor. After some time though, I fell in love with teaching and found myself wanting to help my students, as a teacher and at times, even on a personal basis. In many situations, I was not just a teacher to them but a comrade, a love guru, a best friend, and even a career planner and adviser.
These roles were very stressful but my desire to redirect young people towards a better life and future through guidance is my small contribution to make this country a better place. But even if I wanted to help, I also yearn for a better life for my family financially and otherwise, which is not possible for me to achieve here in my present work and in this country.
It is a hard choice to make but I am lamenting this so you, my dear readers, would understand why in the future, I decided to leave my country to seek for the greener pasture.
ShareRelated posts:
#1 by tessiah on November 20th, 2009
My dearest friend.. this is so so true.. if only our country could provide the opportunities that OFW get outside, for sure nobody will leave their family…