Kwentong OFW | Inspiring Story of A Domestic Helper Turned Into A Haciendera

It is not always a sad ending. To all Filipinos aspiring to become overseas workers, never lose hope. Though it takes strong courage to travel and work abroad, there is still a whole lot of advantages, the reason why Filipinos still chose to work in a foreign land.

Rosemadelyn Dela Marquez went abroad to work as a domestic worker since she had “no education” in the Philippines. However, thanks to the financial literacy program that she joined, all her suffering came to an end.

CARD MRI helped Rosemadelyn know several financial lessons and from them, she took loans from the affiliate bank. Now, the family of Rosemadelyn already own a 100-hectare farmland in her hometown in Oriental Mindoro.

“I own nothing before. I worked as a domestic helper but thanks God and thanks to CARD, I have what I have today,” says Rosemadelyn during her speech at the CARD Hong Kong Foundation graduation ceremony on Nov 18.

“We are really poor. Very poor. I am not educated that’s why I admire you all. You speak English. You are an OFW. I am not accustomed to speaking like that. In fact, I am feeling cold now,” she said.

CARD MRI is providing educational training to Filipinos when it comes to financial literacy and entrepreneurship. Ever since Rosemadelyn knew about CARD MRI in 1997, everything in her life changed.

“Dumating sa buhay ko ang CARD noong 1997 at doon ako nagsimulang matuto paano humawak ng pera. Ang first loan ko ay P2,000. Inisip ko paano palalakihin yung P2,000 na yun,” says Rosemadelyn.

“Namili ang ng bote at natutong magluto ng kakanin. Naglalako ako sa bahay-bahay, at nag-aani ng palay. Lagi kong iniisip na yayaman kami,” she recalls.

Rosemadelyn also confirmed that they had a quarter of a hectare farmland before. But with the financial knowledge she got from CARD and the loans she acquired, the land grew a lot bigger.

“Nung umabot yung loan ko ng P50,000 sa CARD, ibinili namin ng tractor. Yun po ang umpisa… lumawak ng lumawak ang aming lupa nang nagkaroon ng traktora,” Dela Marquez said. “Sa tulong ng CARD, nagkaroon ako ng hacienda. Masasabi ko sa inyo na 93 hectares ang meron ako ngayon. May mga sasakyan ako, at mahal na mahal ko ang mga tauhan ko,” she added.

From her previous loan which is just P2,000, she now availed P8.5 million loan from CARD.

“Napakaganda ng buhay na humarap sa negosyo. Ang CARD ay dagdag puhunan basta gamitin niyo lang sa ayos at konting tipid,” said Dela Marquez, a 2017 Gawad Maunland National Awardee of CARD MRI.

Jessica Mendiola, the Hong Kong Foundation secretary of CARD, claims to have 368 students already graduated from their Financial Literacy workshops while there are about 157 students who graduated on Nov. 18.