After years of school hardship Maria, 29, not her real name, was poised to attain the Filipino dream: a job not in her native Manila but rather some thousands of miles away in Taouyan, Taiwan. In a place where she faced potentially life-threatening mistreatment, separation from family and no social life.

Maria’s story is typical of tens of thousands of Filipino women who support their families by cleaning houses, caring for children, the sick, or elderly and working in factories in overseas countries. Women are expected to make up an increasingly high percentage of the total work force. Our OFW’s are scattered in 181 countries like Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan.

The number of women going out of the country for overseas work are higher than men. Male workers, particularly from poor Asian countries, relying on overseas employment to support their families, have become a common feature in recent years. Most of them work in construction which is in variable demand depending on the state of a country’s economy. This sector has been shrinking owing to an economic slowdown in the Middle East and the Asian financial crisis. But such problems have not affected women’s employment. That very Asian crisis, with its subsequent pressures on men in Japan, has prompted an increased demand for diversions such as female entertainers, the most popular job there for Filipino women. Domestic help, caretaking and caregiving are other jobs filled by Filipino women which takes up the largest portion of Filipino overseas workers.

With their strong English skills, flexibility, reliability and adaptability, Filipinos were ideally suited to such work. In the Philippines, it is the women who manages the financial budgets in the family. Having known how hard life is back home, women workers try to send all they have earned to their families.

Overseas work is a gamble. Win some and you lose some. The danger is always out there. The numbers of female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who died abroad and were subsequently repatriated to the country is higher than that of males. Unfortunately for some, women die by mistreatment by their employers, some physically abused. Most of these cases against female OFWs occur in Arab countries and some parts of Asia like Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“If only my salary will be enough, I would not want to leave our country. But my salary as domestic helper here is not enough. When I went to Taiwan, my youngest daughter is only two years old. After three years, she didn’t recognize me anymore. My older son, now seventeen, is already smoking cigarettes.”, says Maria.

The children grew undisciplined and left in the care of the mother’s parents. But they do really have a choice?

As a consequence of going abroad for “greener pastures,� women and their families suffer most from the social effects of this “forced situation.� A person who has been away from his or her family for a prolonged period has usually led to estrangement between spouses, between parents and children, extra-marital relationships and, among the children, early marriages and drug addiction.

Truly, in the past decade, the number of overseas workers has risen beyond everyone’s expectations and has become an essential part of our economy.

The life of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is really exciting and at times very frustrating. They will undergo a lot of tedious and tiring process before they can be deployed to their country of choice such as in this article - Taiwan.

Newspaper ads, leaflets, brochures, job fairs, internet search, referral by friends - these are just some of the ways to get started working abroad. Checking the agency’s reputation in POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Agency) is also worth while doing because this will save you some time later if in case unwanted problems arise.

Preparing the necessary and valid documents such as Philippine Passport, School Records, Government clearances (NBI - National Bureau of Investigation), valid ID’s and more, are all the things needed to prepare. Each documents takes some days to be released and will require some money. In between these days, there is also the pressure of losing all the savings you have. Before this could happen, our beloved OFW’s should take slow but sure steps in achieving their goal.

Reporting at reputable agencies is one more thing. Some agencies have to line up in long lines and wait for their turn to be called. Some agencies conduct free orientation / briefing / seminar for OFW’s. They explain the country’s background, culture and their economy. As part of the orientation, the documents that the agency require to submit are explained in detail.

It’s sad to hear that there are some who have been a victim and fooled by some scrupulous agencies and illegal recruiters knowing how hard they have earned their money.

Agency Pre-Interview. Prior to the employer’s interview, agency staff evaluates theirs skills and strengths. Some job orders have age, educational and height requirements for some not. The evaluator will check if they fit into those requirements. If not, the unfortunate OFW will be asked to wait for their phone call and wait for the next job order that will be available for them.

Employer’s Final Interview. After thoroughly complying and submitting all the necessary documents, the day of final judgment comes. They have to come early and prepare well for this day. As usual, they have to wait for their turn to be called again. They know exactly well that they have to do well on their interview day. Pressure mounts and the tension rises. It’s undeniable one can’t avoid the jitters and the pressure because the competition is tight.

After this is all over, some agencies provide lists of candidates who passed the interview while some not. Others have to follow-up through phone. Candidates who passed, will have to undergo their medical examinations, PDOS (Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar) in POEA and submit the remaining needed documents. After all is settled, OFW’s will sign their contract and wait for the advise of their deployment.

In summary, the struggle of an OFW from day one to their deployment is hard. They sacrifice and gamble their lives to reach their dreams and hopes just to have a bright future. It takes guts and great courage. It takes time, eagerness, passion, dedication, determination and patience to survive this ordeal. It’s also worth mentioning that some OFW’s recover their money spent some several months later, others take a year or so.

These OFW’s are our real life heroes. We take pride in each and everyone of them. They take their chances working in a foreign land. They will miss their homeland, their loved ones, the food they eat, but nonetheless, it’s all worth it.

We are inviting all Foreign Manpower Agencies to try our service in providing you
workers skilled in the following fields:

1. Engineers
2. Construction Workers
3. Machine Operators
4. Teachers
5. Nurses
6. Caregivers
7. Caretakers
8. Domestic Helpers (Maids)

You can check our company profile here.

Currently we are deploying FACTORY WORKERS and DOMESTIC HELPERS (maids) to Taiwan. You can also check our current job orders offered by Taiwan here.

If you are interested please contact us!