Dec 15
Our most trusted maid Jebel leaves today for her home province Iloilo. She is under extreme pressure from her father, mother, siblings, and relatives to work in the Middle East. They are short of forcing her to work abroad with the prospect of earning P21,000 a month daw. They are the direct beneficiaries of any increase in her income. Her mother is also sick thus needing continuous medical attention.
My daughter has done over and above her duty as employer to help Jebel, and the others. As soon as she came back from the US in September, she increased the salaries of all our maids. Recognizing their needs to help sick relatives, she thought of other micro businesses so they could earn extra money. She also put up an Instagram account called Halambahay to sell their plants, and all proceeds go to them.
There are many applicants within the village but the prospect of them carrying the dreaded virus makes hiring new domestic employees risky.
She hugged Oyen so tightly and didn’t want to leave. My guess is that she will come back after the holidays. Based on our past experiences, most of our maids miss going to their hometown, during fiestas, but after a week or two, they get bored and comeback. It’s more fun to them living in the big city. They have more things to do, more friends to meet, more variety of food, better living environment in general.
