OFW Chronicles: Filipinos Abroad

Looking back, before Facebook, Twitter and Youtube became giants, blogging was the thing and oh, the now forgotten MySpace and Friendsters. The term "social media" back then was not as popular as it is now and not as potent. Then came in the time of Facebook becoming an essential for most people to keep in touch with friends, old acquaintances and even long lost friends who would have remained lost if not for the reach of the platform.  Facebook heralded a new kind of communication with its innovative features although borrowed from its predecessors and improved a lot as mobile devices such as cellphones and tablets became more affordable. There are now an estimated 3.8 billion of smartphone users in the world according to Statistica.com hence, information dissemination has never been this so effective. The artificial intelligence these giant social media companies have developed and implemented are so comprehensive that targeting the intended audience has never this precise....

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 comfo...

From inception you become a being with no consciousness until you are born, being an infant you’ll be the most demanding parasite, cry when you need something, cry when you feel uncomfortable, and cry for no reason at all…then grow to be a toddler, the most stubborn creature, live by playing and everything else is a game…then come adolescence, curiosity will be your main motivation not thinking of the consequences of your actions, reckless, you do as you please…then adulthood, as you become aware of your world you’ll learn to compete as you will desire for achievements thus making you the vicious, treacherous predator or if you’ll not be able to fight you’ll be the pathetic prey…Then the inevitable, you’ll grow older…..on this part I cannot tell because it will be YOU who will decide on what would you be at the end of it all…a parasite again or the host? I have decided, I am going to be the host who will sufficiently provide for my dependents. And by that I mean to go on and work my as...