We had a helper start on Monday. That’s what they call someone here who cleans and cook and basically does everything you could think of to make your life a million times easier. Our helper is named Elsa, she has three children who are now grown. The two days she’s been here she’s been great. She’s been cleaning, cooking, organizing and doing more than I could ever imagine someone could do.
All this and she makes a dollar an hour. And this is on the high end of the salary for the Philippines where the average salary is a dollar a day. Before this she worked in Bahrain for four years working as a nanny. The four years she was there she came home to visit her children and husband twice. The thought of seeing your husband and children twice in fours years made me sad.
We headed out to the supermarket and she started walking about a step behind me. I’m not sure if her last employer insisted she do this or she thought this might be what I wanted, but I asked her to walk with me so I could talk to her and get to know her. This made me sad. Just because she’s working for a living doesn’t mean she’s not worthy to walk next to me and Adam. Then she made sure whenever we crossed the street she was in between the traffic and us, which in the Philippines is saying something since crossing the street is like a game of Frogger. We definitely are not paying this woman enough for this.
Then later in the day I asked her what she wanted me to get her from the supermarket to eat for lunch. I suggested cheese, sliced meat, vegetables. She asked for a mayonaisse spread and bread. I wasn’t sure if I had understood right and asked her what type. She said Kraft Mayo spread and maybe when she finished that jar a jar of peanut butter. I bought her both and some cheese and rice and I couldn’t stop thinking about this all day. She was going to make a sandwich with mayo spread and nothing else. This is what she wanted when I offered her anything in the supermarket. This just made my heart hurt.
Through all this she still manages to be upbeat and positive and is so grateful to have this opportunity. I was very excited to be able to actually afford someone to help me clean and cook so I could spend more time with Adam, but man this is hard.
So many times this week the whole situation has made me sad. It brings home the reality of the poverty here. I guess the only thing you can do is learn from it and try to help and make a difference while you’re here. Either in the job you choose or by volunteering your time somewhere worthwhile or donating to a charity or trying to help people you meet along the way and treating them as you would want to be treated.
bosas-from-us.com 