“Uplifters empowers women all around the world. Just give it a try, and you will see the positive impact that it will bring into your life.”

We are very proud of our students who completed “Dare to Dream'”, Uplifters 3-week free online course on money management and personal growth.

Aileenmae Ramos is one of the graduates of our June 2020 batch and is now enrolled in our Make It Happen follow-up online course. She is from Isabela, Philippines and a proud mother to two children ages 15 and 14. She started working in Hong Kong as a domestic worker in 2010.

Read more about her in this interview.

What prompted you to join the course?

Ailenemae: I received an invitation to join the Uplift Your Life Facebook group from my childhood friend Liezel Marcos. She encouraged me to enrol in the free course they offer to domestic workers. Without any questions, I clicked the join button and kept browsing the group, as well as their Facebook page. I felt motivated by what I saw and read, so I decided to enrol in the online course.

How were you before? How do you feel now?

Ailenemae: I was so depressed, anxious and heartbroken before. I was in the midst of darkness. I felt overwhelmed, especially about financial issues. I did not know where and how to begin again. I went back to the Philippines after I lost my job in August 2019. I used all of my savings and accumulated debt. Fortunately, I found a new job in Hong Kong in November of the same year.

I am now slowly gaining trust and confidence in myself to start a new chapter in life. I have challenged myself to forget my problems through the online course and the class group chat.

I found a community in Uplifters. I started following team leaders Nelly Bautista, Ody Munson and Janelyn Dupingay after watching their live broadcast on the Facebook group. I became inspired to write short stories and poems. I felt more peaceful after expressing my emotions through writing, which helped me to alleviate some anguish deep inside my heart. I am also now a part of other Facebook groups that helped me to form friendships with other women and develop my talents. I started to enrol in other free online courses as well. I love learning new things and feel like I am studying in school again.

How are you going to make sure to put into practice what you just learned?

Ailenemae: I have been so organised since I started my Dare to Dream class. I made sure to keep separate notes on every topic, hard and soft copies, and every so often I review them to refresh my mind. The children I am taking care of even helped me draw my Dream Board, SAVED Visualization graph and post it in my wall.
I am able to monitor my expenses by listing every single amount I spend. I am slowly adding to my savings while I am paying my debts and my housing loan.

Since I started with Uplifters, I found the courage to create a plan and come up with a very strict target amount and specific time for my emergency savings fund. I believe I can get through all this and can reach my goals in God’s perfect time. I did not finish college due to financial problems, so I made a promise to myself that no matter what happens, I will make sure I will support my children so they can finish their studies.

What is your message for fellow migrant workers who hesitate to join?

Ailenemae: I thought that this was just a basic course when I first read about it. But I found myself enjoying the course while I was learning. I was wrong thinking that I know everything about managing my salary and saving money. The course taught us a lot of things that we think we already know, but the truth is, we still have a lot to learn.

I want to encourage each and everyone to enrol in Dare to Dream. Experience the positive mindset that we all experienced after finishing the course.

As domestic workers working far away from our families to provide them with a better life and help them achieve their dreams, we all go through similar circumstances. We need to challenge our perceptions and discover more ideas to help us succeed. Here, we will be able to learn how to handle financial issues and improve our self-confidence. We will learn how to get our families to help us manage our money and communicate with them without hurting their feelings.

Uplifts empowers women all around the world. Just give it a try, and you will see the positive impact it will bring into your life. I am happier and healthier. For me, it all started with Uplifters.