Italy, a modern and wealthy nation in Europe cradles many Filipinos who bravely choose to work and live side by side with the Europeans in their hope to secure a better life for their families in the Philippines.

One of them is Baby Ceniza, a single mother who is currently working as an import employee in one of the   biggest import/export company for fashion garments in Italy. The Bachelor of Elementary Education graduate decided to leave the Philippines in the year 2000 to be able to support her only daughter who was barely two years old at that time. Baby also wanted to help her parents in financing the education of her younger siblings who were still high school and college students then.

Even after practicing her profession as a teacher for a couple of years and working as an office employee, Baby was not satisfied and wanted to seek her fortune elsewhere. This is the reason why she sought the help of her cousin, who is married to an Italian to find an employer in Italy that needs the services of a domestic helper.

Luckily, her cousin managed to find her an employer, which offered Baby a two-year contract as a domestic helper. It took her three months to prepare and complete all the documents needed to work in Italy. Her first employer is an 89-year old woman so she was required to stay in the house all day with no other companion. Her first years in Italy were difficult as Baby was overwhelmed with loneliness and cried every night. She missed her family in the Philippines terribly. Many months passed before she had fully adjusted to her new environment.

After completing her 2-year contract, she found a job as a factory worker before finally being hired to her current position as an import employee. As an import office employee, she is the only foreigner in the company with almost 200 employees. Baby is lucky because it was very difficult to find a clerical/secretarial job in Italy where the Bachelors’ degree earned in the Philippines is not recognized