Monday, January 12, 2009

Domestic Helpers From The Philippines : Modern Day Heroes

By Alice Sy

There is no question to the capacity of domestic helpers from the Philippines. They have earned both a source of living and the admiration of a lot of people around the world. Through their resilience, dedication to duty, and loyalty to their employers, they were able to give a better life to their families.

Domestic helpers are famous for their being good workers. Dedicated and loyal, it is not uncommon for wealthy families abroad to hire Filipino maids. In fact, many foreigners would rather prefer Filipina maids to maids from other nationalities because Filipina maids can come up with work that is of higher quality. They seem to be tireless and to never run out of energy. They are versatile workers, too. They can work from sun up to sun down, doing a variety of chores, such as cooking, babysitting, housekeeping, caregiving, and the like.

Considering the high cost of almost everything, a domestic helper will never survive with such a low salary. For this reason, they are seeking opportunities outside the Philippines, even if it means leaving the great loves of their life.

But what pushes a Filipina from leaving her country and working abroad? To think of leaving your country and serve strangers in other countries is martyrdom. To abandon your family and not seeing your children grow is very sad. But they have an option. Most domestic helpers from the Philippines are sole breadwinners of their families. And to stay working abroad ensures their family of stability, at least in financial terms.

In Great Britain, for instance, the rich and the famous, including royal families and wealthy businessmen are employing Filipina maids. Likewise, in France and Italy, the same holds true. In Greece, only families belonging to the middle-class and up can afford the pay rate of Filipina maids.

Another skill that these domestic helpers from the Philippines have is their ability to communicate in English. They can speak and understand English fairly better than maids from other countries. For this reason, communicating with their foreign employers does not become a hindrance to the quality of service that they render.

It is not surprising, therefore, that domestic helpers would rather choose to take on jobs away from home, even if that meant leaving their loved ones behind for a long time.

In the United States and elsewhere, there is a seemingly huge demand for domestic helpers from the Philippines. Filipina maids have sterling records when it comes to their dedication and quality of work, and these records have remained unstained up to this very day.

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