American
dream lives on in hearts of OFWs in HK
By Blanche S. Rivera
Inquirer News Service
AMERICA'S
capital cities may be collapsing but the American dream lives on
in the hearts of some Filipinos.
An
initial group of 50 Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong recently
took a qualifying examination for teaching jobs in the United States.
The
testing was the brainchild of the Philippine ambassador-designate
to the US, Albert del Rosario, who said he wanted to "bring
back to their profession the misplaced Overseas Filipino Workers."
The
50 domestic helpers who took the examinations are all qualified
teachers back in the Philippines.
The
OMNI Consortium Inc., a recruitment agency for Filipino nurses and
teachers bound for the US, arranged for the tests to be conducted
at the Philippine International School-Hong Kong last Sept. 9, two
days before the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
"It's
very important to give them opportunities to do what they have been
trained to do," said OMNI chief executive officer Florita Tolentino.
Tolentino
said a study has shown that the US demand for teachers would balloon
to two million in the next 10 years because fewer Americans are
inclined to teach basic education.
She
said US schools prefer to hire Filipinos because they have a good
command of the English language and are "naturally caring and
friendly."
The
contract workers paid 130 dollars to take the test.
Filipino
teachers who qualify to teach in the US and are assigned to either
Texas or California receive an average of 4,000 dollars a month.
Tolentino
said she did not consider her company's recruitment efforts as contributing
to the brain drain in the country, which has been losing its best
professionals to more lucrative jobs abroad.
"The
government should look at it positively. We are a poor country and
there is a need out there, so why don't you go and help yourself?"
she said.
"There
are no jobs here and instead of going as domestic helpers, they
can go as teachers or nurses," she added.
She
said Filipinos working in the United States can help boost the economy
because of the huge dollar remittances that they send back to their
families.
"If
we need dollars, then this is better than going around looking for
investors," she said. "Tourism will not be back in the
next few years because of the kidnappings."
She
said recruitment agencies like hers can create a niche abroad for
Filipinos as educators in much the same way that they are now in
demand as health workers.
The
results of the exams will not be known until later this year.
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