A former OFW couple’s inspiring rags-to-riches story goes viral – and they can certainly inspire all of us to believe in ourselves and strive harder for our future.
It’s a sad reality for many Filipinos that you can’t really think about success when you’re poor. For many, success is something that is so difficult to attain, that they are content with what they have and no longer think about what they might be able to achieve in the future!
That’s why we greatly admire how a couple went from rags to
riches because they refused to give up.
According to Mary Jane Juan, she and her husband started
with almost nothing.
“Dati, truck driver sa umaga ang hubby ko at tricycle driver pa sa gabi. Nakikipasada lng siya noon, hindi namin sarili ang motor. Hinihintay ko pa asawa ko dumating galing sa pamamasada para may maisaing,” Mary Jane narrated.
“Nagtitiis kami sa 20 pesos na lutong ulam. Nagsimula talaga kami sa wala as in wala. Sipag tiyaga at panalangin sa Taas lng ang naging puhunan namin.”
Seeing that they won’t be able to greatly improve their
lives if they stayed that way, the couple decided to work abroad.
She worked as a domestic helper at the royal palace in Riyadh while her husband worked as a waiter and cleaner.
“We worked hard na mag asawa. Wala kami parehas na bisyo, family lang talaga. Malaking tulong ang pag abroad namin kasi doon galing ang puhunan namin. Nangingibang bansa pa din kami sa Asia pero vacation na lang kasama buong family,” she explained.
While many OFW families experience marriage troubles and
eventually broke apart, Mary Jane and her hubby focused on building their
family and saving their money.
They opened a hardware business and were able to save enough
to build their own house in Tagaytay – complete with a swimming pool! They also
own three vehicles.
Here’s Mary Jane’s advice to OFWs:
“Mahirap maging ofw. Dapat tayo matutong mag ipon, huwag maging waldas. Pahalagahan ang bawat dolyar na kikitain, huwag mamili ng mga bagay na hindi kailangan.
Maging priority ang pag unlad para sa mga anak at huwag maging mapag mataas kasi napakahirap ng buhay sa ibang bansa.
Luha, pawis at sangkatutak na pagtitiis at pasensya ang baon mo para hindi ka mapaaway. Kasi buntot mo, hila mo sa ibang bansa.
Matutong magtiis pero dapat matuto ding magsinop para lahat ng hirap ay magbunga ng maganda dahil hindi habang buhay malakas ka para mangibang bansa at higit sa lahat huwag makakalimot sa Taas para lagi niya tayong gagabayan ano man ang desisyon na iyan sa buhay.”