Former jobless OFW sets up job vacancy platform to help unemployed Pinoys in UAE By JOJO DASS

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Having experienced how hard it was to lose a job while abroad, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) here has set up an online space where she shares vacancy announcements for free to help those going through the same predicament. “I’ve lost count na po sa bilang ng mga natulungan ko na. Hindi ko na po talaga mabilang. Very thankful po ako kay Lord sa wisdom na ibinigay niya sa 'kin to lead our fellow kababayans to have hope, 'yung maituloy nila ang mga pangarap nila, kasi alam ko 'yung dala-dala nilang pangako sa family nila at 'yun ay to be able to give them a better future,” said 36-year-old Strawberry Ann B. Villegas. (I’ve already lost count on the number of people that I have helped. I am very thankful to the Lord for the wisdom He has given me to lead our fellow Filipinos to have hope that they may move forward with their dreams, because I understand they have to fulfill the promises they made to their families, and that is to be able to give them a better future.) Villegas maintains a Facebook page named “Uae Hiring,” where she regularly posts job openings, and where she also shares her LinkedIn account, which has more than 20,200 followers. Villegas started her one-woman initiative in 2018, when the construction company she was working at as personal assistant to the operations manager, shut down. Vow “There were so many people who lost their jobs. I was thinking about what will happen to their families, their children. How will they pay the rent or buy food? My heart crumbled. I saw the laborers crying for their salaries. I promised myself I will help whenever I see vacancies, and help without getting anything in return,” said Villegas in a mix of English and the vernacular. Her network grew as her advocacy gathered steam. “I expanded my network. I started out sending information to my peers every time I came across a hiring announcement. Then, as I have grown my network to around 20,000 people, I eventually developed contacts with recruiters and we have been coordinating. I really allot time for this,” said Villegas, who now works as support executive to the CEO of a reputable corporation in the UAE. Not a recruiter Villegas, whose eldest son is suffering from a distressing medical condition, always makes it a point to clarify on her Facebook and LI posts that she is not a recruiter, but rather a middle person who’s just trying to help. “This has become a passion of mine. I love helping others find better careers in UAE, or elsewhere, without expecting anything back. Please note that I am not a recruiter, just someone who wants to help others,” she said in one of her posts on the Facebook page. “If you’re helping someone and expecting something in return, you are doing business, not kindness. It is sad that sometimes life revolves around money such that kindness loses its meaning,” she further said. Villegas, the youngest of three siblings, is no stranger to the hardships that life throws around. Her father, a visual artist from the University of Sto. Tomas (UST), would use his paintings as payment for her tuition to get her through college. Malady Nor is she spared from the agony of life’s cruel twists and turns, if you will. Her eldest son, an eight-year-old, is suffering from an incurable malady believed caused by an immune system malfunction. It requires regular intravenous therapy, a vial of which costs almost AED7,000 for a 15-day treatment. “He was diagnosed in September of 2022. We’ve been going back and forth to the hospital, especially when his disease flares up. We need to come up with AED58,000 a year for the injection and it’s not covered by our insurance,” said Villegas, whose husband works as a real estate agent. The couple has three children. A private group has committed to provide for the cost of her son’s treatment, albeit for eight months only. The couple has been doing the rounds at charitable organizations for more help. “Nakaka-awa nga po siya. Sabi nya, ‘Mommy, bakit hindi ako normal? Mommy, kapag 10 (years old) na ba ako gagaling na ako?’ Wala po akong maisagot. Sinasabi ko po, ‘Pray lang.’ Si Lord ang medicine po nya,” said Villegas, in tears. (He’s very pitiful. He once asked, ‘Mommy, why am I not normal? Mommy, will I be well when I turn 10?’ I could not say anything. I tell him ‘Let’s just pray.’ The Lord is his medicine.) Villegas said it pains her to see her son that way. She said he was rushed to the hospital nine times last year. “The longest time we’ve stayed was three weeks,” she said. Arrived in Dubai Villegas, who hails from Tanauan City in Batangas, arrived in Dubai in July 2012 and wasted no time braving the summer heat going door to door with her CV looking for a job. “I wanted to help my family financially, which I knew I couldn't do if I stayed in the Philippines,” she said. Villegas is the only sibling to finish a four-year college course. She is a graduate of La Consolacion Tanauan, Batangas where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management - Tourism. She had dreamed of becoming a flight attendant. —KBK, GMA Integrated News