Everything is possible for a person who has a dream regardless of their background and circumstances in life. This is what our featured OFW shows us in her life update as an OFW in Hong Kong.
Venus Alegado, who hails from Tarlac knew how hard life can be. As a single mom to 2 kids, she had to do everything she could to support her family. It was not easy, but she made a choice to persevere to provide them a good life to the best of her abilities.
OFW Single Mom Builds 2-BR ‘Dream House’ in 2 Years of Working and Saving up in Hong Kong
To tide them over on a daily basis, Venus took several jobs – from selling balut, barbeque, to planting rice in their hometown – she had to do all these just to survive and keep her family fed. To say the least, life was very hard back then. Venus never thought she’d be able to invest in her own house because even putting meals on their table was hard to achieve.
Venus shared that because of her family’s situation back then, there were times that she thought of just stopping because she couldn’t bear all of life’s challenges anymore.
This was until she was given the opportunity to work abroad through the help of her sister. Venus shared, “Sa totoo lang never ko talaga pinangarap na makapag-abroad dahil takot ako noon (Truth be told, I never dreamt of working abroad back then because I didn’t have the courage to leave [home]).”
“Dahil nauna ang kapatid ko makapag-abroad, tinulungan nya ako na makapag-abroad din (After my sister got the opportunity to work in Hong Kong, she helped me find a job there, too),” Venus explained.
According to Venus, she was fortunate enough to find a kind employer in Hong Kong. And through her hard work and perseverance there, she was able to provide for her family. This has led her next to decide to invest in a small house back home, just so they could have a place they can call their own.
Venus shared that building their small ‘dream house’ wasn’t easy but she had to start somewhere. “Yung natitira sa pinapadala ko sa Pinas, yun yung iniipon ko hanggang makapag-tabi ng kaunting halaga para makapagsimula ng maliit na bahay (Whatever money is left with me after I send support back home, I save for our house project – no matter how small that is),” she said.
Venus also revealed that the construction of their 2-bedroom, 1 toilet/bathroom bungalow in Tarlac was completed in two years. However, the construction was not a consistent process because they didn’t have all the resources they needed to complete it as soon as possible. Her brothers even did most of the job building the house so they could save on labor costs. The total cost of the house’s construction amounted to Php 700,000 including labor. Throughout this process, Venus had to continuously work and save up to finish their house project.
Though it was not an easy process, Venus was able to achieve her goal of having a house of their own and she is even able to provide for her mother’s maintenance medications (with the help of her sister, who’s also an OFW) and send her children to school, with one already having graduated with a vocational certificate in automotive.
And this is what Venus has to say about how she overcame all her struggles in life, “Sipag, tiyaga, at dasal lang talaga ang karamay ko sa panahong nalulungkot ako. Iiyak lang pag masama ang loob, puwede kang mapagod pero bawal sumuko.”
Hard work, perseverance, and prayers have helped me through my lowest moments in life. It’s okay to cry when you’re hurting. It’s okay to feel tired, but NEVER give up.
Catch the full clip of Venus’ success story here as posted on Roxie Diaz’s channel:
Congratulations, Venus! Truly, you are a role model to many OFWs out there who have dreams they want to pursue for themselves and for their families. We hope that your story will inspire many others to never give up and continue to hope for a better future and life for themselves and their families!
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