Toiling hard abroad and missing out on special occasions like birthdays, graduations, and other important family moments can be both physically and emotionally draining for our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

For motivational speaker and life coach Chinkee Tan, technology may never be enough to wipe out OFWs’ longing to be with their loved ones, but chatting, he said, is the least that OFW dependents can do to make their breadwinners feel that they are loved.

“Let us reach out to them. Tayo na ang mag-effort na mag-send ng mga messages at tumawag. Ipakita natin kung pagmamahal at appreciation na ginagawa nila para sa pamilya. Iyan na lang ang pwede natin isukli sa kanilang sakripisiyo,” Tan said, saying that it took him only ten days, compared to years for Filipino migrant workers, to realize the pain of being separated from loved ones.

As a financial influencer, Tan travels a lot to reach out to Filipinos who want to break the chains of financial instability. It was during his ten-day stay in Dubai that he realized how OFWs set their personal needs aside to be able to support their families’ way of living.

“Nakakaiyak na isipin kung ano ang sakripisiyo ang ginagawa ng ating mga kababayan para maibigay ang mas magandang kinabukasan para sa pamilya. Lahat ay gagawin para makapagpadala lang,” Tan added.

Read Chinkee Tan’s full article at https://chinkeetan.com/sabik-ka-na-ba/  

Photo credit: chinkeetan.com

Daughter fulfills her OFW mom’s only dream

All hard work paid off for this 48-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Hong Kong as her youngest daughter passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Board Exam on May 2017.

Juvy Forunato celebrated over the recent success of her 20-year-old daughter Nimfa after finding out that she passed the grueling board exam.

Nimfa is one of the 1,279 who took and passed the exam.

Fortunato hailed from Pangasinan and has been an OFW in Hong Kong for 16 years. She chose to work abroad after she and her husband separated and became the sole provided for her two children.

Nimfa currently works at an accounting firm in Intramuros, Manila.

Recently, she and her daughter just purchased their own land as their investment and they are on their way on building their dream house.

Source: Hong Kong News 

Photo credit: Nimfa Fortunato Abad/Facebook

 

BBC Report: What OFWs can teach the world about giving

It may not be part of their obligation but overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are always expected to send balikbayan boxes filled with chocolates, toiletries, clothes and other branded stuffs. Many would ask: many of these things can actually be bought in the Philippines, relatively at the same price abroad, why do they need to do so much effort for it?

Experts answer the emotional aspect that the iconic OFWs’ balikbayan boxes carry with them.

Mary Racelis, a research scientist at the Institute of Philippine Culture, told BBC that it all boils down to the “pasalubong culture” among Filipinos.

“Pasalubong for the immediate family is seen as partly compensating for their having been away from the family for some time, and having deprived the latter of the worker’s presence,” she said.

Nestor Castro, an anthropology professor at University of the Philippines (UP), agrees, saying that it is a powerful way to fill up an empty part in the lives of migrant workers. “When one person goes to a distant land, they return carrying pasalubong with them. But in the case of the balikbayan box, it is sent to relatives and friends even if the person who sent it has not yet returned home,”

Michael Tan, an anthropologist from UP, said that OFWs might even start to feel that sending balikbayan box is more of an obligation than an action done out of the Filipino culture.

“When you travel a lot, as I used to, the pasalubong can become more of a tedious obligation rather than an act of generosity and joy. Because we feel obligated to bring something for everyone, we pick up whatever we can just to give something,” he said.

Still, it cannot be denied the pasalubong culture will always remain as part of every Filipinos and it distinguishes them from other race, said the BBC report.

“Pasalubong continues to fulfil the function of reintegrating travelers back to the community and reinforcing familial ties and friendships,” Racelis said.

Source: BBC

Photo credit: LBC

 

List of Balikbayan box freight forwarders certified by BOC

When “ber-months” arrive, balikbayan boxes pile up. For overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), this is the time to send ‘boxes of love’ for their families back home.

While President Rodrigo Duterte ordered Bureau of Customs (BOC) to stop operations that involve opening of balikbayan boxes, some OFWs still fall prey to corrupt staffs and officials.

To avoid cases of balikbayan boxes theft, BOC recently released an updated list of certified deconsolidators, which OFWs could trust.

“Filipinos abroad are advised to refer to this list when sending balikbayan boxes to the Philippines,” the advisory reads.

Here is the list of registered deconsolidators:

1 Brand Expert Freight Forwarder Corporation

2 Jeezan Int’l Cargo and Courier Services

3 Speedstream Transport

4 Fil Cargo Express

5 BICM Genesis Freight International Incorporated

6 KC Express Door Delivery Services Incorporated

7 Ocean Star Freight Express

8 Royal Cargo Incorporated

9 LBC Express Incorporated

10 Skyland Global Logistics Incorporated

11 XYZ Global Express Corporation

12 Makati Express Cargo Incorporated

13 Kingspoint Express & Logistics

14 Transtech Global Phils Incorporated

15 Trico International Forwarding Phils Incorporated

16 MMD Logistics Incorporated

17 JRC Logistics Phils Int’l Incorporated

18 Pehanshin Shipping Philippines Incorporated

19 Chenvel Svcs Incorporated

20 Jolly-B Box Express Line Incorporated

21 Unifreight Cargo System Incorporated

22 Coriner Global Express Logistics and Trading Corporation

23 Fil Asia Cargo Express Services Corporation

24 Associated Freight Consolidators Incorporated

25 I-Genex Cargo Forwarder Incorporated

26 CT Movers and Forwarding Services Corporation

27 Phil-Global Cargo Movers Incorporated

28 Al Mohr Customs Brokers Incorporated

29 12:24 Cargo Express Corporation

30 Cargoflex Haulers Corporation

31 Afreight Phils Incorporated

32 LCSN Express Movers Incorporated

33 Willxpress Incorporated

34 Roxas Cargo Express

35 Total Line Logostics Incorporated

36 RV Door to Door Delivery Services

37 Atlas Brokers & Express Padala Incorporated

38 E-pad Freight Forwarder

39 Rensworld Freight Logistics Corporation

40 Jiamin Cargo Express Incorporated

41 Genesis Logistics Global SVCS Incorporated

42 Skyfreight Forwarders Incorporated

43 I-Merex Group of Companies Incorporated

44 Jexsan Logistics Philippines Incorporated

45 Focus International Brokerage Corporation

46 Ernst International Logistics Corporation