Illustrado Magazine – Filipino Abroad

Tag: filipino community

Pinoys in UAE: It’s What I Do

IT’S WHAT I DO – April 2015

STEVE PADILLA

Architect & Coordinator –
Control Contracting & Trading Company
Abu Dhabi, UAE

My Job

I am an Architect/Coordinator for one of the oil and gas companies based in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi. As architect and coordinator, sometimes I visit our site/yard to check if the design of barges, cabins and offshore structures are properly followed, meeting with our clients and consultants requirements (NPCC, ADMA-OPCO, GPC, Technip, ADGAS etc.). I also make sure that all our design and engineering deliverables are properly coordinated – checking all the drawings before submitting them to our client, coordinating with the vendor, draftsman to Discipline Engineer to Project Manager until construction. In my work, I collaborate with a multi-cultural team and professionals from all levels.

My Day

I’m just a typical professional with a lot of friends. My day starts with prayers with my wife right after waking up. We start our day thanking God for another day, another exciting day. At the office before work, we have some tea first and chat with fellow Filipino staff. After work, I fetch my wife at her workplace just across the street. In the evening we eat together and chat about the day’s events. Then, I do some small household chores to help my wife who is due to give birth in May. My wife prepares our food (breakfast and lunch) and clothes for the next morning. Thursday is our family day and date day. I always make sure to ask my wife to go out and relax and have fun – even if it’s just a coffee date, sometimes. Friday is our favorite day as we go to church together.

Career and Life Advice

My message to my fellow Filipinos is simple. Put God first, enjoy your family, family bonding is very important. If family is lost, then there is no reason in working hard. Be happy for what you have, be humble and work hard even though nobody is looking at you. Enjoy your work. Don’t make enemies at work and try to be friendly and in times of need your fellow staff will be the one to help you. Make friends, a lot of friends and go out with them sometimes. Always smile in the work place. Learn the culture of other nationalities and, at the end, you will earn their trust.

Don’t be afraid to dream high. Don’t be afraid to talk to your boss. Talk to them and learn from them. At the end you will earn their trust as well. If you earned the trust of your officemates and your boss, that means promotions and salary increase. Be wise in saving money. We don’t know until when we will be working in this country. Try to learn the 10 20 70 savings system – 10% for God or whatever your heart wants to give, 20% for savings or much bigger depending on your situation, and 70% for the rest (rent, clothing, shopping gadgets etc.).

…………….

CHRISTIAN MAGADIA

Head Structural Engineer – Ted Jacob Engineering Group, Beca
Dubai, UAE

My Job

I am a structural engineer by profession. As a structural engineer I design buildings and infrastructures. I work closely with architects and other engineering professionals in addition to dealing with local authorities and decision makers. We are the mind behind all the magnificent structures and iconic monuments that make up a civilization and our responsibilities include designing comfortable houses for all of us to live in.

One of the most remarkable events in my career was when I passed the chartered structural engineering examination given by the Institution of Structural Engineers in the UK. Having a degree not recognized in the UK, I had to write a full technical report to prove that my academic knowledge and experience are at par with the UK Standards and is equivalent to a Masters Level in the UK. Achieving chartered engineer status opens a lot of career opportunities not only here in Dubai but anywhere in the World. The certification allowed me to accept a role in New Zealand to help in seismic design and retrofit of existing structures affected by the 2012 Christchurch Earthquake. I take pride that the quality of our education and trainings back home are at par with the best in the world.

My Day

As the head of the structural department in our company my day starts with planning and administrative stuff, to make sure the team has enough work and that they perform each task efficiently. Internal meetings will soon follow to monitor the progress of each project and follow up issues, programs, and deliverables. The next half will be occupied by external meetings with architects, clients, local authorities, and contractors. My day in the office will not end until I have a daily catch up discussion with our management to talk about finances, resources, and direction of the company. If I get lucky I may be involved in some hard core engineering work the following day!

Career and Life Advice

My message to our fellow Filipinos is to reach for the sky whatever role or position that you are currently in and enjoy while doing it. And the most important message is that we should all be proud to be Filipinos everywhere we go! Mabuhay!
……………

CLEOFE RINGOR

Office Manager – DSM Technology FZCO
Dubai, UAE

My Job

I am an Office Manager working in the oil and gas Industry in the Middle East. I have worked in the same company for quite a few years now and I’ve been enjoying since. As an Office Manager, you have to ensure that the office is running smoothly, overseeing the workloads of your co-workers. It’s never been easy to delegate tasks to your team, but I always see to it that everyone is happy and enjoying their work, and I try to create a healthy work environment for all.

My Day

There are busy days, and there’s time to chill, as well. My role on a daily basis is to check and complete pending matters, to recruit, screen CVs, liaise with agencies and authorities, meet with the clients, suppliers, lawyers – there are too many to mention. At the end of the day, your main challenge is your employer, how they are satisfied with your accomplishments and performance, and whether your tasks have been executed properly. Your aim is to impress them, to keep your job in the long-term and once you’re at the peak of your career, make the most of it and make yourself useful all the time, feed your brain so you won’t get obsolete in the market.

Career and Life Advice

I have started in a rank-and-file position, yet I told myself then that my career will not end there. I had many sacrifices, I have pushed myself to the limits in order to succeed and achieve my dreams, from being a receptionist to an office manager. My goal was to become a manager at the age of 35 but that didn’t happen. Because God is good! He answered my prayers earlier than I least expected and I became a manager when I was 32. It’s really not about how many trophies or medals you have earned in school, but how determined you are to produce a golden egg.

“Your dream will stay a dream if you don’t work hard for it.” Remember that – “knowledge is power.” You can do almost everything if you are smart, but refrain from doing bad. The one thing I have learned is to be fair to everyone, be kind and honest even if no one is watching you and share your blessings if you can. I must say that I am truly blessed that I am living the life of my dreams. To my friends, relatives and family who inspire me, thank you for your tremendous support, and to my Papa this is for you. I just hope you were here to see the person that I had become. I know you’ll be proud.

June 2, 2015
WOS 2012: Joy – Rowena Gungon Niduaza, A Voice for Gratitude

Story by Lalaine Chu-Benitez

Photography: Eros Goze

Hair and Make-Up: Frankie Melendez

Rowena Gungon Niduaza brought pride to the Filipino community when she won the Toastmaster Competition in the UAE in 2005. That win took her to Jordan where she competed with winners from all over the Middle East. There, she ultimately took the top prize, and became the first Middle East representative to the 2005 Toastmasters International Convention for World Championship in Public Speaking in Toronto, Canada.

That feat seems significant enough. In reality, however, what’s even more significant was Rowena’s triumph on another level – how her win allowed her to keep a sacred promise and mend old wounds with her family.

Rowena had a flourishing career as a design and retail professional in the emirates. Just like most career women, she was consumed by a demanding job, while juggling motherhood, her work taking much of her time from her family, especially in lieu of frequent travels. She was stopped in her tracks when she was suddenly diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1995. Rowena and her husband were devastated. She shares, “I prayed as I’ve never prayed before. I asked for another chance in life – to live a life more meaningful and to live with a purpose. That moment made me realize how lucky I was for having such a loving husband, wonderful kids and a beautiful life. I cried but then I thanked God for all that He had given me. Everything, including my cancer.”

Ironically, going through that difficult period, turned into a breakthrough for her. Suddenly, she was forced to look at life differently and her priorities appeared clearer. “I realized then that the substance of life is not about [work] success, but about the little things you see every day.”

Around the same time Rowena’s father, who was estranged from the family, died all alone in the Philippines. The loss was a deep source of regret for Rowena, and it created resentment from her dad’s family.

Come her day of surgery, little did Rowena know that she was fated to experience her very own miracle. After several tests at various hospitals confirming her illness, for some reason the doctors were not able to find any cancer cells and she was declared well.

Furthermore, having been told by doctors that her ovaries have been totally damaged, she was amazed that she became pregnant with her third child after five years. Rowena declares, “A thankful heart had not only healed my cancer but had also given me another gift, another life.”

Ecstatic that she was given a new lease on life, Rowena recounted, “I made a promise to God to share my story and His message of love. My only request from Him was to bring me where He wanted me to share that story.”

As though it were a part of a grand plan, Rowena’s opportunity to fulfill that promise came when she got into the Toastmaster championships. Her speeches in Jordan, entitled, “Why” and “Two Words” chronicled her journey through cancer and the unfolding of blessings and gratefulness she experienced in the process. Her words resonated so much with the audience that many wept.

The fact that a Filipina claimed the top award, in a place where Filipinas were greatly looked down upon, made the moment even more meaningful. “I stood there as a Filipina in a place where our women were referred to as ‘kamsa-kamsa’ [meaning five-five, it is a derogatory term to mean ‘cheap’ – Ed]. It gave me tremendous satisfaction to hold my head up high and see that everybody was applauding a Filipina.”

As she accepted her award, Rowena touched her locket which contained her father’s ashes and silently promised him that her speech at the World Championship in Public Speaking would be for him.

She didn’t win the competition, but her speech “My Father” gave her the chance to say things that were not said while her father was still alive and be heard by relatives who attended the event. Rowena emerged winning so much more – reconciliation with her family.

She said, “All this time in these competitions, I never really hoped to win. I went there to fulfill my promise – to share God’s work and mend ties with my family. And thank God that He gave me a way.”

These days, Rowena makes it a point to celebrate life each day, focusing on her family and making sure that they constantly feel her love.

The specter of cancer has revisited her once again, but Rowena who participates in a cancer support group, will not let it bring her down. She says thoughtfully, “For me, having the cancer was an advantage. I was given a warning. I was able to prepare myself and my loved ones and be conscious enough to live right. All of us are going to die eventually and that can happen anytime without us knowing.”

More than anything else, she’s gained, is the gift of a deeper spiritual understanding which she shares with anybody who would care to listen. “Believe that there’s always a reason, a meaning for everything… it’s just like when the wind blows…we can’t see but we can feel it.”

April 5, 2012
Over 2,000 Pinays Pledged to “Take Charge”

Over 2,000 Filipinas took the “Pinays Take Charge Pledge” at the Philippine Independence Celebrations held at Al Shabab Sports Club, Deira, Dubai on the 10th June 2011, organized by the FILCOM (Filipino Community) the umbrella organization of some 60 Filipino associations in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

“Pinays Take Charge” campaign is in line with the Women of Substance event, Illustrado Magazine’s annual project for Filipina empowerment. The campaign seeks, not only to create a more positive image for Filipinas in the region, but also to assist in addressing problems and concerns relevant to Filipinas. It comes with a guideline of specific advices hoping to inform, educate and alert Filipinas on how to handle compromising situations. Filipinas who take the “Pinays Take Charge” pledge are accounted to follow and execute the campaign’s guideline.

The “Pinays Take Charge Pledge” include reminders for Filipinas on being responsible for their bodies and their actions, being alert of possible dangers or situations that can lead to trouble particularly in a Middle Eastern settings, as well as loving themselves and exercising self-respect.

June 16, 2011
Editor’s Note: From the Outside Looking In

I used to be a parochial silly little Filipina.

I thought my parents were traitors for opting to work abroad when they could have stayed on in the Philippines and stood by me and my siblings, as we came of age.

In college, my friends and I would gossip about a fellow “Iskolar ng Bayan” who came from the US, and who claimed that English was her first language. We would wince in disbelief whenever she would “try” to speak in badly mangled Tagalog, or effortlessly mouth off English with a distinctive twang, thinking to ourselves, “Ang arte naman nito!”

The same judgmental attitude kicked in automatically when I met a couple of siblings who grew up here in Dubai. My friends and I would sneer whenever they would speak English even as we spoke to them in Tagalog; they insisted that they didn’t know the Pambansang Wika, but spoke Kapampangan at home instead.

I moved to the UAE with a heavy heart, prodded by my parents, thinking that I was committing the ultimate act of treason against the country I so love.

But it seems that distance could actually give one a better perspective.

Out here, one comes to realize how big the world truly is. How diverse cultures are, and how different (and ironically similar) to each other Filipinos of varying backgrounds are.

Being in a different country and existing with Filipinos from around the Philippines, I have realized how we Tagalogs sometimes discriminate against our own kind, thinking that the whole Filipino community should revolve around our language (when there are over 100 of them in the Philippines), and that our country is Manila – period.

I have also come to develop a new appreciation for our home looking at it with fresh eyes, but at the same time understanding that moving to another country is not only an opportunity, but also a right, as people follow their bliss around the world.

Most of all, I have realized that love for country does not reside in the superficial – skin color, language, personality traits, or even choosing to live back home, and that the capacity to contribute to the betterment of our motherland and our people is a reality even when you are a thousand miles away.

It is our sacred duty to hand down our traditions, to teach our children the values passed on to us through generations, and ignite the pride and love for country which every true Filipino nourishes in his heart. Our culture depends on that for its survival.

But in the same way that it is our responsibility to hold on to our roots, so should we also understand and accept the progressive evolution and the growing diversity within our community.

The Filipino is no longer limited by the virtual “four walls” of the barrio, or even the Philippines, for that matter. He exists in all corners of the globe, born and bred within and outside the homeland, in all skin colors, with different tongues and mindsets.

Despite the variations, we are all inevitably and undeniably tied together by one thing – the knowledge that we are all Filipinos fuelled by our love for family and the hope that our country will continue to rise successful, proud and free.

As we commemorate the 113^th anniversary of Philippine Independence this month, let us further liberate ourselves by expanding our minds and ultimately embracing progress, tempered by being in touch with our roots.

These could only serve towards the continued enrichment of the Filipino existence.

Taas Noo, Filipino!

Lalaine Chu-Benitez

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

June 6, 2011