Former overseas Filipino servant

"Because life is challenging, I wanted to provide for my family, so I went to work abroad." - Evelyn Cajegas

Many Filipinos are leaving their home country to pursue better opportunities. The pandemic is one of the leading causes of the country's growing OFW population. When the virus first emerged in the country, countless Filipinos lost their jobs.

Evelyn Cubero Cajegas, a 52-year-old from Barangay Commonwealth in Quezon City, is one such example. She has a daughter, and her spouse is a construction worker in Saudi Arabia. She is regarded as a hero due to her bravery and sacrifices.

Evelyn is a former OFW who worked as a housekeeping supervisor in a hospital in Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2008, then in the UAE from 2008 to 2018.

Her experience there was depressing since, according to her, foreign cultures differ from those in the Philippines. They can only rest there if they are sick and have a doctor's certificate. However, if the doctor does not offer a medical certificate, they will continue to work.

“We will follow them because of their perspective, which states that Filipinos visit their country not to travel, but to work,” she said.

Evelyn is fortunate to have joined a respectable company, despite the low compensation.

Since then, she has worked as a housekeeper to help her husband and support their only child. But what motivated her to go abroad was her mother's illness, especially because her salary in the Philippines was insufficient.

“I need to take care of my sick mother, particularly financially for her medication,” Evelyn said sadly.

Evelyn admitted that she struggled to save money in Saudi Arabia, but after transferring to the UAE and working there for ten years, she was able to do so.

When she returned to the Philippines in 2018, she opted to start a business to cater for family daily necessities, leaving her husband as the sole one who works abroad.

Evelyn also talked about the distinctions in earning a living abroad than in the Philippines.

"The good thing is that it's all provided by your company or employer; they won't lower it; there’s no tax, so whether you're married or single, your salary won't be affected there,” she said.

"But the thing I learned the most is to save; you have to save for yourself and your family,” she added.

Evelyn has a message for her fellow OFWs who are still in other countries, working hard and making sacrifices to support their families.

“I want to tell them that I have a space here that I can offer them for the business. Today, because I'm in my home country, I can eat whatever I want thanks to my small store. Because I remember having a colleague at work abroad who would even eat leftovers to satisfy hunger,” she said.

She also spoke about her experience with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) program, which provides a business to OFWs who prefer not to return abroad.

"They offer business seminars as part of the OWWA budget, but if you don't pass the business plan, you will not be selected for the business grants. But if you pass, OWWA will return every six months to give you money to expand your business," she explained.

Evelyn is one of the OFWs who has never returned abroad, preferring to focus on her daughter and her small store. She still believes that one day they will be reunited with her family and will not be required to leave their own country to work overseas.

Evelyn's experience shows that we should not give up and lose faith in seeing the wonderful prospects that may come in our lives, both as OFWs and as citizens of our own nation.