Read Maylene’s story, a 39-year-old Filipina domestic worker in Singapore, from victim of abuse to recovery. You’ll learn how little by little, she’s built her own path to fulfilment. Uplifters helped her ignite her self-belief and we are delighted of how she’s grown professionally, saved money and made friends along the way!
Be inspired by her resilience… and also learn her special tricks to take care of elderly people 🙂 !
“Before I went abroad my life was like an empty jar and I didn’t know whether I could still dare to dream.
I was a victim of abuse when I was younger and I’m still learning to move on. It impacted my studies and I failed my degree because of it, I couldn’t concentrate. I felt I had failed my mum too by failing my degree but thankfully my mum understood when I told her everything. I then went on to work, had my 3 children, but everything was very tough financially and personally. So after a few years, I decided to move abroad to work.
I care for elderly people here – I even had to revive my 1st employer 3 times after he had a heart attack!
When I first arrived in Singapore six years ago, I didn’t have any experience caring for elderly people. My 1st employer had heart problems, I saw him having a heart attack and had to revive him myself but I had no training nor any experience of doing this. I learnt from watching YouTube videos and from watching the medics. In these situations, I’ve learnt not to panic, stay calm and just call the medics.
I’ve also had to handle patients with a very bad temper! I had a hard time, at the beginning especially. I kept telling myself that I needed to prove myself I could handle it and show patience, but it can be very hard with some elderly people!
My tip is that if they’re moody just leave them alone for a bit for them to calm down and then slowly talk to them. They can often get frustrated because they can no longer do the things they used to do, so I remind them of the importance of letting go of some things – it’s the circle of life. I try to find things to make them laugh, things we can share together. So over time, I’ve discovered my own way of handling my patients’ bad mood”.
In addition to the professional expertise she’s gained here working with the elderly, Maylene has also been able to provide for family back home.
“Every month I send money home to my mum to help with medicine – I’m an only child. I also give my children an allowance but I only give them what they need. My husband is also working at home and I don’t want them to get too dependent on me. I discovered with Uplifters that I don’t need to be too soft in every situation and spoil them too much. I’ve also learnt that I don’t need to depend on others in my life.
I’m thinking of the future and of my business plan, which I think might be a food business. I’ve invested in some cows back home, some tricycles and I have a little bit of savings.
Peer support is a big part of Uplifters’ courses, so in the process of learning money-management, she’s also been able to build friendships with her fellow students.
“I joined Uplifters because I wanted to save money but I also wanted to make friends. I really enjoyed doing the Dare to Dream course because I was able to handle it in my own time. I learnt a lot about saving but I was also able to chat with other students and we kept in touch afterwards, especially with my fellow students from my first Dare to Dream course. It was great to be able to support each other during the course, great to hear about different people’s experiences and great to share ways to change things from negative to positive. We built up a friendship – we came from different countries, with different beliefs, and it has reinforced my respect for all cultures. I was so happy to meet them. I don’t have Sundays off so it can be difficult to meet up in person often but we’ve still managed to find a way to do it.
So little by little I’ve been filling my jar with friends, learning and savings and I think it’s about half full now!”
Thank you so much, Maylene!
Maylene is one of our Diamond team leaders who’s facilitated 10 sessions of “Dare to Dream”, Uplifters 3-week long signature online course on money management and personal growth.
