Dear fellow teachers from the Philippines,
I am teaching overseas right now. Please do not allow yourselves to be victimized by recruiters. Please read the article about Filipino teachers held in 'servitude' in the USA in the link below.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-10-27-filipino-teachers_N.htm
You don't need recruiters. You don't need middlemen/middlewomen. You can take control of your job search.
Let me share with you how I applied for my overseas job.
As an Overseas Filipino Worker, my first overseas job was a teaching position at the Da-Yeh University in Changhua, Taiwan. I taught there for 5 1/2 years. I applied online by posting my resume on Dave's ESL Cafe. It was free. Afterwards, Dave's ESL Cafe sent me job ads posted by schools and language centers.
I sent my application portfolio to several universities in different countries. After considering the offers, I chose to sign up with Da-Yeh University in Taiwan. Everything was free in the sense that I didn't have to pay any middleman/woman (the recruiter). Of course, I paid for my passport at the Department of Foreigh Affairs and my visa at the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Makati City.
I applied personally for my passport and my visa. I didn't allow any recruiters or travel agents to make money off me. I was a direct hire.
Right now, I am teaching at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Singapore. How did I apply for this job? I surfed the web, found advertised job openings for academic staff in reputable institutions, and sent my application documents in 2007 to some.
After going through the usual interviews and waiting for several months, in November of the same year, I received from NIE an air parcel sent through a 24-hour courier. It contained my letter of appointment and other relevant documents. I signed an acceptance letter which I sent back through a 24-hour courier, too. A notice was e-mailed to me to pick up my air ticket from the nearest Philippine Airline sales office.
On Nov. 30, 2007, I flew to Singapore. I checked into the university's executive centre for free, then transferred to a faculty flat on Dec. 3, 2007. I received my first paycheck on Dec. 15, 2007.
I was a direct hire. I didn't allow any recruiters or travel agents to make money off me.
It breaks my heart when I hear of fellow teachers who are victimized by recruiters. I understand the dream that you dream. For heaven's sake, don't let it become a nightmare!
Concerned,
Carmelita C. Ballesteros
Showing posts with label Vision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vision. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2009
Friday, July 11, 2008
Key OFW Issues and Proposed Reforms
by Mark Serrano
As if living in strange lands -- far away from home and their loved ones -- is not hard enough, OFWs have to deal with the challenges imposed upon them by their own government and people.
OFW horror stories emanate from POEA, OWWA, Immigration and Customs at the airport, and the recruitment agencies back home. The supposed "heroes" are actually "martyrs" in their homeland, subject to the opportunism and ill treatment from their fellow Filipinos.
Barangay OFW has come together to bring to the forefront these key issues. It has also taken the pro-active stance to propose reforms in a holistic manner.
In one document, Barangay OFW would like to share the collective experiences, thoughts, desires and bright ideas of OFWs from all corners of the globe with the Philippine government, the Filipino nation and the rest of the world.
This is a tiny step toward, “Reforming the Present, Creating the Future.”
Indifference has been the ally of oppression; conviction its antidote. Fellow OFWs past, present, and future, if we all make a stand and take a tiny step forward today, we shall soon claim the magnificent destiny we all deserve. Mabuhay!
Read this document on Scribd: Consolidated OFW feedback & proposed reforms
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Dying Filipino caregiver in Canada is being kicked out
This article by Ms. Ma. Ceres P. Doyo was originally published in her column, HUMAN FACE, in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on June 19, 2008 (Manila time). Ms. Doyo has given Barangay OFW her kind permission to re-publish this article. You may reach her at cerespd@gmail.com
Please hang in there, Mrs. Juana Tejada. We are praying for you and everyone concerned.
In my column last week on “Caregiver” the movie, I ended by saying the movie should have a sequel. Well, it’s that column piece that is having a sequel. And this is for Filipino caregiver Juana Tejada. Juana de la Cruz, the EveryOFW.
I now step aside to project the myriad voices raised on her behalf. First, let me quote portions of a stinging column piece (“Our nanny state, save for nannies,” June 11) written by Joe Fiorito for Canada’s The Star.
"Corey Glass may get to stay. He is the American deserter—call him a war resister; better still, call him a conscientious objector—who came to our country to avoid the war in Iraq."
"All parties in the House of Commons approved a motion last week urging the government to allow him and others like him to remain in Canada as permanent residents. The vote was 137-110 in favor. If the motion is not binding, it has moral force."
"He came here to save his life."
"At the same time we are kicking Juana Tejada out of Toronto and we are sending her home to die."
"Juana is from the Philippines. She came to earn a living looking after other people’s kids. She did not sneak across the border. She came to be a citizen. She followed all the rules."
"And then she got cancer."
"She must go. He might stay. There was no motion in Parliament for her. Why the hell not? Is it race? Is it class? Is it gender?"
"There are perhaps 100 war resisters living in Canada at the moment. Their numbers are too small to be of import, but their presence illustrates a principle: we keep an open door. Remember Vietnam? ..."
"We ought never to forget that nannies enrich our lives with their hard work. They raise our kids. They enable our lives of privilege. They are the working women who carry other women on their backs…"
"We offered Juana a path to citizenship if she would wipe the snotty noses of our brats. But some dim bureaucrat—in Alberta of all places, where they have the least understanding of what life is like here, and now—has decided that Juana’s illness ‘might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health and social services.’…"
"She came here in 2003. She came to work. Never mind her dues, she paid her taxes. It is as simple as that. Here is another principle: we are Canadian; we do what’s reasonable."
"Juana would have earned permanent resident status when her three years were up. She did not choose to get cancer in 2006. We are giving her no choice. We are sending her home to die…"
You can read Fiorito’s entire piece by logging on to http://www.juana-tejada.info/. The petition letter addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper is there for anyone to sign. I was the 801st signer. There is space for your own personal message.
I personally know one of the persons behind the petition. My US-based schoolmate Mila Alvarez-Magno and her husband Oswald are trying to gather as many signatures as could be gathered before Aug. 8, the day Juana is to be sent home. Here are excerpts from the letter:
Please hang in there, Mrs. Juana Tejada. We are praying for you and everyone concerned.
In my column last week on “Caregiver” the movie, I ended by saying the movie should have a sequel. Well, it’s that column piece that is having a sequel. And this is for Filipino caregiver Juana Tejada. Juana de la Cruz, the EveryOFW.
I now step aside to project the myriad voices raised on her behalf. First, let me quote portions of a stinging column piece (“Our nanny state, save for nannies,” June 11) written by Joe Fiorito for Canada’s The Star.
"Corey Glass may get to stay. He is the American deserter—call him a war resister; better still, call him a conscientious objector—who came to our country to avoid the war in Iraq."
"All parties in the House of Commons approved a motion last week urging the government to allow him and others like him to remain in Canada as permanent residents. The vote was 137-110 in favor. If the motion is not binding, it has moral force."
"He came here to save his life."
"At the same time we are kicking Juana Tejada out of Toronto and we are sending her home to die."
"Juana is from the Philippines. She came to earn a living looking after other people’s kids. She did not sneak across the border. She came to be a citizen. She followed all the rules."
"And then she got cancer."
"She must go. He might stay. There was no motion in Parliament for her. Why the hell not? Is it race? Is it class? Is it gender?"
"There are perhaps 100 war resisters living in Canada at the moment. Their numbers are too small to be of import, but their presence illustrates a principle: we keep an open door. Remember Vietnam? ..."
"We ought never to forget that nannies enrich our lives with their hard work. They raise our kids. They enable our lives of privilege. They are the working women who carry other women on their backs…"
"We offered Juana a path to citizenship if she would wipe the snotty noses of our brats. But some dim bureaucrat—in Alberta of all places, where they have the least understanding of what life is like here, and now—has decided that Juana’s illness ‘might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health and social services.’…"
"She came here in 2003. She came to work. Never mind her dues, she paid her taxes. It is as simple as that. Here is another principle: we are Canadian; we do what’s reasonable."
"Juana would have earned permanent resident status when her three years were up. She did not choose to get cancer in 2006. We are giving her no choice. We are sending her home to die…"
You can read Fiorito’s entire piece by logging on to http://www.juana-tejada.info/. The petition letter addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper is there for anyone to sign. I was the 801st signer. There is space for your own personal message.
I personally know one of the persons behind the petition. My US-based schoolmate Mila Alvarez-Magno and her husband Oswald are trying to gather as many signatures as could be gathered before Aug. 8, the day Juana is to be sent home. Here are excerpts from the letter:
Dear Prime Minister Harper:
We, the undersigned, respectfully file this petition on behalf of cancer-stricken Juana Tejada, a Filipina caregiver, who has been ordered to leave the country by August 8 and whose application for permanent residency has been refused on the ground that her illness might pose excessive burden on the health care system.
We regard the deportation order against Tejada as no less than a death sentence, and a cruel and inhumane decision. It tarnishes Canada’s excellent international reputation as a humane and compassionate nation…
Like the thousands who hope for a better life in Canada … Tejada answered Canada’s call for caregivers and has served in Canada since 2003, separated from her husband and six siblings. She worked hard in a low-paying job that demanded more than the usual number of working hours that other working Canadians enjoy, to earn her right to become a permanent resident.
But for her medical condition, she would have been assured of permanent residency, able to sponsor her family, after the required three years of service as a caregiver under Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program. Her cancer is a disease she did not choose to have. She might even have contracted the disease in this country. During all the three years when she was able, Tejada, in her small way, had supported the health-care system that she now desperately needs to care for her.
She is no burden to the health care system. She is being looked after by generous and compassionate doctors who are providing their services for free. She is buying her medications with the financial support of friends, neighbors, and members of her community.
Even granting that there is a cost to the system, surely, it cannot be said that in order to save a few thousand dollars in health care costs in this isolated case, Canada is prepared to suffer the ignominy of sending Tejada back to her homeland, the Philippines, a country with no socialized health care system, to die.
Caregivers like Tejada provide valuable home care services to thousands of Canadian families. They enable Canadians who use their services to lead productive lives, and to maximize their contributions to society. Unlike the thousands of refugees Canada is known to accept and protect from potential harm or death, Tejada has served this country and paid her taxes dutifully. She has more reasons to seek humanitarian protection and care from Canada than most refugees…
Canada’s greatness as a country rests, not on the stone-cold and literal application of its laws, but on the humane application of such laws and the wisdom of its national leaders in doing what is morally right….
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Welcome to Barangay OFW
Tuloy po kayo! Maligayang pagdating!
We are a group of OFWs who believe that all of us overseas Filipino workers must focus on bringing about reforms and reintegration for the benefit of all Filipinos working overseas around the world as well as our families in the Philippines.
This blog site is for all of us past, present, and future OFWs as well as our families. Our group will maintain this blog site for OFW-related information, education, and advocacy.
Please write your comments, questions, and suggestions with regard to posted articles. If you wish to share an OFW experience, yours or that of someone you know, please e-mail either Dr. Carmelita C. Ballesteros at barangay.ofw@gmail.com or any of the contributors at their personal e-mail addresses.
Today, there are about 10 million OFWs in every country around the globe. In 2007, the estimate was that we remitted through the banks a total of USD14.3 billion. Thus, we keep the Philippine economy afloat. Hence, we are hailed as “Bagong Bayani.”
But unlike Manny Pacquiao for whom government and mass media fall all over themselves to give a hero’s welcome, we OFWs are treated shabbily at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), at POEA, at OWWA, at Philhealth, at the Department of Foreign Affairs, at Philippine embassies, at recruitment agencies, etc.
Our Vision
Overseas Filipino Workers are world-class. Thus, we must be genuinely valued, admired, and respected by both the public and private sectors in our own country.
Our Mission
We are a group of OFWs who believe that all of us overseas Filipino workers must focus on bringing about reforms and reintegration for the benefit of all Filipinos working overseas around the world as well as our families in the Philippines.
This blog site is for all of us past, present, and future OFWs as well as our families. Our group will maintain this blog site for OFW-related information, education, and advocacy.
Please write your comments, questions, and suggestions with regard to posted articles. If you wish to share an OFW experience, yours or that of someone you know, please e-mail either Dr. Carmelita C. Ballesteros at barangay.ofw@gmail.com or any of the contributors at their personal e-mail addresses.
Today, there are about 10 million OFWs in every country around the globe. In 2007, the estimate was that we remitted through the banks a total of USD14.3 billion. Thus, we keep the Philippine economy afloat. Hence, we are hailed as “Bagong Bayani.”
But unlike Manny Pacquiao for whom government and mass media fall all over themselves to give a hero’s welcome, we OFWs are treated shabbily at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), at POEA, at OWWA, at Philhealth, at the Department of Foreign Affairs, at Philippine embassies, at recruitment agencies, etc.
Our Vision
Overseas Filipino Workers are world-class. Thus, we must be genuinely valued, admired, and respected by both the public and private sectors in our own country.
Our Mission
- To pursue pro-OFW services from the government and private sectors through structural and/or institutional reforms.
- To help shape a prosperous post-OFW future through a holistic reintegration policy.
Copyright © 2008 to Barangay OFW. All rights reserved.
About Us
We are a group of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) intent on bringing about reforms and reintegration for the benefit of Filipinos all over the world.
Our Vision
Our Vision
World-Class Overseas Filipino Workers: Valued, Admired, Respected
Our Mission
- To help shape a prosperous post-OFW future through a holistic reintegration policy.
- Information Dissemination
- Policy Studies and Advocacy
- Nonformal Education on Entrepreneurship, Citizenship, and Governance
Core Values
- Integrity
- Truth
- Courage
- Financial Intelligence
- Compassion
- Creativeness
- Commitment
- Determination
Copyright © 2008 to Barangay OFW. All rights reserved.
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