OFW Success Story (Eden Zaniega de Castro-Villa)

Eden Zaniega de Castro-Villa, who had worked in Hongkong as a household service worker (HSW) to earn dollars for her family in La Union, is now generating much bigger income from her handicraft business, which was expanded with the financial assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA).

“After working overseas, I decided to go home and open a small school and office supplies and craft store,” shared Eden, who also at the same time was engaged in silk farming.

Source:Official Website of the Department of Labor and Employment

For OFWs, this is the kind of story that keeps us motivated to dream. The story of Eden Zaniega re-invigorates my enthusiasm to go on. It gives me hope that someday I too can succeed on my future plans after retiring as an OFW (Overworked Filipino Worker) Oops! I mean Overseas Filipino Worker (smile). Being away from home just to provide for the family is not the life I have imagined of having when I got married. I wanted a simple yet comfortable life "living with my family" not "leaving my family behind". But for obvious reasons I had to find a greener pasture to be able to provide a better life for my two kids which are single-handedly being raised by my young lovely wife.

I’m on my fourth week of my vacation here in the Philippines and being with them makes me forget all the trials I have endured abroad. There are no dull moments particularly when I’m with my young kid, my son Kyro who keeps me laughing with his innocent queries and for his age, at 4 years old, It makes me wonder how he became so “pilosopo” and so intuitive that sometimes I run out of explanations when we are kind of debating. My daughter Kekoa on the other hand continues to make me a proud Daddy by being the top of her class for 3 consecutive years. Oh sorry, I just got carried away, going back to the story of Eden. She, like Agnes Marrero have proven that if we want to achieve something, we can do so if we are focus and are willing to do the extra mile in realizing our visions.

I know some OFWs that will read this post would just shrug it off, smile with sarcasm and would utter “this guy is delusional”. Am I? I don’t think so. Time and again there are individuals who have made it and succeeded because they wanted to be free from the “chain” the chain of the resigned. What I mean with that is almost all OFWs have settled to the idea of continuously working and keep on remitting until thy Kingdom come but when the retirement comes... Hell of a life waits for them. No Savings, in a matter of one year all the assets that have been acquired in years will be sold, friends decrease in numbers, your neighbour that used to brag about you during the heyday would start to tell people in your neighbourhood how pathetic you are. Would you risk of living in hell here on earth or will you take that rough road towards success and be in heaven here on earth after retirement?

Choices that we make today will define our future. Choices made by Eden Zaniega and Agnes Marrero took them where they are right now. As I always say on this blog.. The power is in us, the opportunity is there. It is a matter of what you would do with that power and those opportunities.