Jourgina thought she would be a maid forever. Her salary amounted to S$520 (RM1,185) which supported her farmer parents and seven younger siblings in Mindanao. But her employers believed in good education so they enrolled her in a part-time course at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).  They not only paid for her fees, they also drove her to her night classes, which she took three times a week. And when she had lessons, her employers (Dr. Richard Ng and Mrs. Ng) and their four children (ages range from 12 to 28)  had dinner at 5pm so she could make it to class on time. Dr Ng also helped her with her lessons as he is an engineer by training who teaches part-time MBA classes at private school MDIS.

It was not easy to doing both her homework and housework for the family of six in a two-storey house. "I don't have days off but it's okay. Education is more important". Jourgina never thought of giving up also because, “My Sir and Madam were so encouraging, I wanted to do my best.”. 

In 1997,  Jourgina got the Worker Improvement through Secondary Education certificate, her first since she completed primary school in the Philippines and just recently, Jourgina graduated with a National ITE Certificate in electronics, specialising in computers and networking. 

IBM invited her for an interview after reading her story in The Straits Times, which she passed, and offered her a two-year contract as a technician. An IBM spokesman said: “She is hardworking and demonstrates a good attitude and passion towards work. These are the characteristics of any employee we want to hire.” . Jourgina is just waiting for the Manpower Ministry to approve her new work permit. And when that happens, she will be working from 7am to 3pm and earning twice her current salary. “The money will make a big difference to my family in the Philippines. But I’m more excited about starting a new job and learning new things,” said Jourgina Dagoplo.

After joining IBM, Jourgina will continue to stay with Dr. Richard Ng and his family and continue doing household chores for the Ngs to repay their kindness. Dr. Ng will employ another maid, whom Jourgina will supervise.

Source: The Straits Times/ANN  

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