By Marie Kretz Di Meglio, Uplifters Founder. “Today, I want to introduce you to Evelyn, one of our “gold team leaders” (alumni students supporting new ones) at Uplifters. I initially got to know Evelyn through a Facebook group for domestic workers in Singapore and I was really impressed by her sound advice to fellow domestic workers. She has a very balanced perspective on domestic workers – employers relationships and she does not hesitate to remind domestic workers that they came abroad to work, not for holidays and that they should also honour their part of the contract!
On top of guiding domestic workers online, Evelyn has been volunteering for a long time at the Centre for Domestic Employees – CDE. Her dedication to helping others is truly admirable.
Don’t be abused by her humbleness,she is one of a kind and a true inspiration for me.
I was genuinely interested in her feedback about our money management and personal growth courses and very happy she found them helpful for herself even though she was already well aware of these topics. Our Student Success Volunteer, Anne, interviewed her and I will let you now hear her story in her own words. “
Evelyn is a 47-year-old Filipino, single mother to four young adults. She describes herself as a shy person, who is usually quiet if not familiar with the people around her, but once she’s comfortable with her environment she becomes compassionate, empathetic, positive and passionate about helping others. And we can guarantee you the passionate side!
“I came from a poor family and didn’t have the means to go to college. When I had my kids, I vowed to myself that I would do everything to give them a better future. When the opportunity knocked, I jumped at it and became a migrant domestic worker.
I’ve been working here in Singapore for 17 years. When I first came to Singapore, it was pretty hard. I’ve faced lots of challenges, like culture shock, the language barrier, issues with settling in and homesickness. But the most difficult part has been being separated from the outside world. I’ve worked for 2 years without a day off, a phone, or permission to speak to neighbours…it’s been very hard.
I heard about Uplifters on social media. I like to learn new things and so I was desperate to find about their Financial Course. What attracted me the most to Uplifters is that it’s an online course, which is very convenient for me.
I’m hoping to achieve my financial independence in a few years and so far, I’ve already achieved freedom from debt.
Aside from money management, I’ve learned to say ‘no’ in a nice way.
Right now I’m only supporting my youngest son and my mother: my monthly remittance is for my son’s school fees and allowance, along with my mother’s medication, food and bills. I don’t have much in the way of savings. Over the years, most of my money has gone to supporting my family and paying for my four kids to get their education.
My youngest son graduated from college this month, so now I will move on to my next goals: saving enough money to build my own house and keep using my free time wisely. Thanks to Uplifters courses I discovered my ability to control myself and stay focused in order to reach my goals.
I did recommend this free online course to my kids and to my niece because I want them to learn how to manage their own finances, become financially independent and to secure their own future. My kids now understand the value of money and the importance of savings for the rainy days.
Now, I really enjoy being a team leader.
I meet different people; learn different characters, personalities, perspectives and different life experiences. I used to think that my experiences were worse than everyone else’s, but now I’ve learned to put things into perspective. It has taught me to stay positive no matter what. Not to mention that helping others is satisfying for the soul.”
