There are approximately 10 million Oversease Filipino Workers around the world in 170 countries. They only do not provide a living for their families but also make considerable contribution to Philippine’s economic growth and this is the reason why OFW are considered a “National Heroes’.
I thought of some words to best describe our Oversease Filipino Workers where in we can remember them and their heroic acts by these words.
When we say OFW they are:
A- Accomplished. In the sense of earning good enough money as compared by working in their homeland, most of the OFW are considered successful. Successful in a sense that they have done accomplishment to fullfill their goals of support to their family. Although not all but mostly are.
B- Bored. The way of living alone without family besides them are the fact of the OFW hardship. Weekends supposedly a time spent for recreational and relaxing activities but it makes them bored to death thinking they will spent happiness all alone in a far away foreign land. In short, we can call it sometimes being homesick.
C- Challenging. Being an OFW is a big challenging role to survive in the foreign land, it is not as easy as what other’s know. OFW you thought who earn a lot of money but despite of those earnings are challenges to pursue everyday. A challenge which is nostly negative but it is always made positive by them.
D- Determined. To work as an OFW has a reason because each one has a great motivation to succeed in life, nobody can stop their determination to help their families way back home. A determined attitude is what makes an OFW becomes a success!
E- Energized. OFW tend to be energetic at all times. They even make their off days as productive as they could to earn extra income. Their energy were boost by thinking of their family way back home.
F- Fortunate. Although not all but most of all are fortunate to work abroad. OFW can live their lives in flamboyant way while working in other countries. If you got your visa by then other people may sees how fortunate you are for such opportunity, but they doesn’t even know the real life over there.
G- Godly. OFW always sees GOD as the center of their journey being far away from their family. They seeks God’s guidance in every way. Every little things they will never forget to pray.
H- Hero. Our OFW are considered heroes since they contribute to the economic growth of the country through the means of their billions of remittances. Also because of their sacrifices to leave their families so as to give them the best.
I- Inspiring. Oversease workers are really inspiring because of their guts and sacrifices. Many of them only thinks that this is an interim arrangement where in they should earn, save and escape. The only inspiration of an OFW to go through are their families.
J- Jovial. Every OFW around the globe are cheerful and friendly. They know how to adapt immediately to every cultures and situations that may arise. Everytime they will see “KABAYANs” everywhere they are overwhelmed and proud and willing to help.
K- Knowledgeable. Everytime you travel to every country you can always see Filipinos working there, why? Because we are knowledgeable in all aspects of work. OFW’s can adjust to any adaptations in different country and different types of work. We always want to learn new things and uses it to gain more knowledge to our future endeavor.
L- Love. This is the reason why many Filipinos are working abroad. Because of their unconditional love to their families and they want them to experience luxurious living, they even sacrifice their own happiness just to give their families the best life ever.
M- Motivated. Every Filipinos working abroad are really motivated, they are eager to learn almost everything. OFW with great enthusiasm are those people with intense and visionary Christian views. They show a lot of interest in everything that they are doing that’s why an OFW is a great enthusiast!
N- Nostalgic. In a sense of longing and sentimental values, we Filipinos are mostly famiy centered. As an OFW we are longing from some events from our past especially a family gathering or events that we wishfully think to happen again than working in a far away homeland. We often experince this kind of nostalgia especially when we are lonely or we experience hardship on our job.
O- Obligation. Working in a far away land is a scarifice and as well as an obligation. Most OFW treat their sacrifices as an obligation to fullfill their dreams for their family, to earn more than enough and plan ahead on their future but not all are lucky to achieve it. Mostly their obligation becomes a favor or a debt of gratitude.
P- Patience. “Patience is a virtue” we can always hear this saying. In the life of an OFW this saying really applies in reality. Imagine waiting for how many years just to finish our contract or before having our vacation is quite hard to think. Counting the days, months and years just to be with your family again is not simple and easy. It takes time to build a strong guts of patience for us, we almost overcome all the sadness, hardship and trials along the way just to be with our loved ones and just to say the long wait is over, welcome home....
Q- Quality. Standard of work is number one characteristic of being an oversease worker. We are being loved all over the world because of the quality of work that we give, the disntinctive and general excellence of our work is known in every country that we are serving. When you tavel you will always see a Filipino working or sometimes having business there that you will be proud of. OFW is the quality of good service and having incomparable traits when it comes to their job all around the globe.
R- Realistic. In a sense of achieving their goals in life to be able to make their dreams come true, for themselves and to their family as well. Most OFW’s are realistic and practical. They are thinking sensible ideas on how to go on even they are suffering in a hard way. This is one of the diversion of being alone and far away, to think realistically in achieving a good outcome in all the hardworks for the sake of family.
S- Sacrifice. We often hear the news on tv about OFW who is being maltreated, who is separated from their husband and wife, who’s son or daughter became an addict or whatever negativities. All of these are because of the sacrifices of an OFW, they give up something important for the sake of something which they think is good but sometimes its not. Sacrifices of being an overseas worker are genuine, we cannot blame them because each one of us is having different stories to tell, different experiences and different values, attitudes and opinions about something. Not all the outcome of your sacrifices will be positive, sometimes it also went on a different way which is failure. As to the saying “there’s no harm in trying” so just try and try until you succeed!
T- Thrifty. In laymans term when we hear the word OFW all comes to our mind is that they earned more money. Despite of earning more than enough they are very thrifty because they only use their hard earned money resourcefully and carefully. While their family is having a feast on their table an OFW will have eggs and rice with them just to fill in their stomach and saves more money to be sent back home with their families as a remittance.
U- Undaunted. Dissapointments are commonly happenings to people who works abroad. Sometimes the expectations are far away from the reality. OFW’s are not intimidated or discouraged by difficulties or dissapointments that arises to them, they are undaunted with optimistic attitude to move on despite of failures and challenges along the way.
V- Venturesome. Not all people can take risks but An OFW can. They are venturesome, wether they win or lose or they will be lucky or not as long as they try and try until they will succeed. This is the reason why OFW are called heroes they are like investors who invest themselves to the different types of culture and adapt on different environment just for the sake of ambitions, dreams and earning better and enough to support their families. Oversease workers are great risk takers more than being a businessman!
W- Wishful. One reason why Filipinos work abroad is the wishful thinking of having a good life. They are expressing a wish for something to happen along with their sacrifices to be far away from their love ones. The risk of being alone in an unknown land is hope to every OFW. They want to accomplish things that they desire sometimes something that cannot or probably will not happen.
X- Xenodochial. We all know that Filipinos are really hospitable and friendly. As we work to other country we meet a lot of foreign people with different beliefs and cultures. OFW’s are very friendly to strangers that is the reasons why they can easily adapt and overcome those cultural diversities in other countries and most of them became successful.
Y- Years. A lot of years passes by in every OFW around the globe. All the years of sacrifices, longings, hardships, challenges and sometimes failure means a lot in every oversease workers. Every years of going home from a short but memorable vacation is really important to them. To breath and live without stress. To see their families and loved ones, to get along with them and fullfill the lost times happens every year to those lucky OFW who can go home yearly.
Z- Zesty. OFW are very lively and pleasing. Just because they suffer tiredness and hardship it doesn’t mean that they lost their humors. Most workers abroad are fully energetic and full of excitement despite of the feeling of homesickness, they used to divert their attentions in more interesting things to divert their loneliness into lively happiness. They know that life is hard abroad but it doesn’t always show that life is hard for them because they are Zesty!
My Insights:
I am an OFW since 2013, it is risky to work abroad, sometimes lonely, depressing, tired and maybe you can say all the negative descriptive words in the dictionary but one thing is for sure I am really a PROUD OFW, why? Because after all the storm that happened in my life being here helped me to move and stand again.
Being an oversease worker is a combination of sacrifices, challenges, love and self worth. We are sacrificing to be alone in an unknown land, it became a challenge to us so we can overcome each day thinking of love from our family and continously taking opportunities which can develop self esteem, values and respect to ourselves that made us always proud but not boastful. We are the new hero of this generations and our family is our strength to always go on.
To foreigners who called our country “the land of the slaves” which is really degrading to each one of us, but here we are united as one continously fighting and proving them that this was wrong, because Filipinos, despite of discriminations abroad are still humble, we are unique, creative and hardworking people who don’t even care of being tired as long as we give our best to every job that we have. In every country you can see Filipinos because we are knowledgeable and hardworking, this is how we work, and it only means that we are more than capable and trusted workers all around the globe. OFW’s are not slaves but we are more than a HERO!
Always remember this:
“If you want something you never had, you have to do something you’ve never done”
By: Maerz ❤️
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