Ang Payag ni MamaGirl

Okay, here's a quick post to my kababayans in Roxas City and Capiz. In answer to the increasing number of unemployed due to the recent global recession, the Roxas City and Capiz provincial governments are holding a job fair today at the Roxas City Civic Center. This is in line with the nationwide effort of the national government to help the unemployed find jobs.

Started only last year, thousands of job-seekers have joined the fair and, according to reports, over one thousand have been employed overseas and more than four thousand were employed locally. Today is the fourth time that a job fair is held. It started at 8am today and ends at 5pm later this afternoon. Job-seekers are asked to bring with them documents such as their resume, diploma, and transcript of records.

I am not sure as to what kind of job are available but, just the same, why not show up there to see? Who knows, ato lang gali didto gahulat ang trabaho sa imo.

"Look, Ma... I'm like a puppet in strings!"



My precocious marionette. His hospital room became an extension of his playground. We rushed him to the hospital after two days of severe headaches. After seeing a pediatric-neurologist and undergoing CT scan, the headaches disappeared and he was bouncing like a ball. We stayed 3 days as he was still under observation, and when we got the go-signal from the doctors, we were happy and relieved that nothing is wrong. Total expense, P32K, that's roughly US$800! But he is healthy and we are not worried anymore.

Hello friends. Just so you all know, I am still here busy. I am currently undergoing a training with an international organization for a future job. As you all know, our organization has no longer enough funds to support its projects and so it is closing down some projects and several staffs were laid off. We all had the option to re-apply, but I decided to leave.

So now, I am in Manila for the training. Sang Huwebes pa ako diri. I left my son to the care of my parents and in-laws. It's difficult as 5 days is a long time to be away from my son and I am afraid he'd miss me. Anyways, thanks to my donors, my siblings who continue to support me, I flew to Manila ahead of the scheduled training. I decided to come a day earlier so I could have my medical check up at Saint Luke's Hospital earlier. The medical check up is a requirement and being so, is paid for by the organization. On Sunday afternoon, I'll be returning for blood works.

So, this is all for now. Will tell you more when I return to Roxas. Break time is short as the sessions are intensive. Lots of learnings, I'm glad, to prepare us for the change that we all are about to embark. So, till then.

It's been a while since I posted here. There were so many things happening back at the office, especially now that the end of the year is near. Time for project evaluations and report-writing for our donors. So most of us project officers are in the field, conducting evaluation sessions and interviewing beneficiaries to support the data we gathered during the evaluation.

While most of the working population are looking forward to the end of the year (read: bonuses!), we at the office dread it! Due to funding shortages, there will be downsizing of manpower. Those that will be laid-off will be given separation pay equivalent to the monthly rate multiplied by the number of years of service. This is not much, I tell you, since our salaries are not that high compared to others. For a single person, that amount might be enough to tide him/her over while looking for another job. However, for married people, this is definitely not enough. To those who'll be lucky enough to be retained, will have to re-apply for the same position but the salary is not yet known if it's going to be the same level or not.

As of now, the management has not informed us of anything yet as to who will be leaving or staying. Due to this uncertainty, I am starting to look for other options. I would like to work overseas again, preferably to Cambodia where I used to work as volunteer from 1999-2000 and 2002-2003. But my options are open - anywhere will do as long as it is not a war-stricken country. You see, I have a husband and kid and they'll be a major consideration in the choice of country of assignment. And VSO has a positive reply on my application. We'll see. Wish me luck.

Pity the chicken! Well, in not so many words, that's how it is when translated to English :)

Those were the words I heard uttered by my son this morning while I was preparing to go to work. He was already outside, in the yard, playing when he noticed one of our chickens:



I heard his footsteps coming towards me and ushered me to where the chicken was. He had this serious concern on his face, seemingly unable to understand why a chicken was lying there wounded. Let's take the chicken to the hospital, he said, quick.

That's my little boy, nurturing a soft spot in his heart for animals.

Months ago, our office paid for a fellowship activity in Guimaras Island. We all got very excited because it will be a time off our hectic work schedules. Guimaras is a province in Iloilo and is best known for its sweet, sweet variety of mangos.

We stayed at Raymen Beach Cottages in Alubihod, Nueva Valencia. To our delight, the place was beautiful - white sand beach, long stretch of shoreline, and crystal clear water ideal for swimming.

To get there, we left Roxas City early in the morning. From Iloilo City, we went to Ortiz port and took one of the many boats that ply the Iloilo-Guimaras route. It didn't took long, only about 45mins and we already reached the historical Buenavista wharf! Buenavista is one of the five municipalities of Guimaras, and the wharf where we docked is also known as the McArthur wharf, named after the famous Douglas McArthur who built it in 1903.

We didn't waste time. Our activities were mainly on team-building and fellowship. We had music, dancing, games and of course, the food! It was such a good time for all of us. After many, many months of hard work, this excursion certainly relaxed everyone as well as strengthen our camaraderie and team spirit. I hope we'll have more of this in the future. We were there for a few nights, but we all came home with renewed spirits and commitment in our work.

For me, the it would have been more fun if my husband and little boy were there. I know, it was a wishful thinking - but I know many mothers out there share my feelings about being with family, but since it is a work-related outing, it's just not right to take them with me. Next time, I hope to bring my husband and little boy here for some family bonding.