Filipino Migrant

In Social Studies, we read an article about a Filipino Migrant. We were told to write an essay about why they migrated to New Zealand.

She grew up in a poor family in the Philippines with no education and no savings. At the age of 17, she became a young mom and gave birth to her son. She worked as a service crew, a maths tutor and a plantsadora(a woman that iron clothes). She did everything to survive but it was still hard to provide things for her son since she was the only one that can support him.

Back in her home(Philippines), the level of the crime is high. You always had to be aware of your surroundings if you don’t want to be in danger. One of the pull factors, why she and her family migrated in New Zealand, is that it is safer. The news each night covers murderers, accidents and robberies. They only pick which one is newsworthy and they were too many of them to report. Another pull factor is opportunities. In New Zealand, she loves that there are opportunities for her children that she didn’t have back home. There, she had no choice as to what they can be. You need to either work as a nurse or an engineer to have a better life and to work outside the country. The main reason/push factor why she migrated is because of poverty. She grew up poor and became a young mom. It was already hard for her to survive on her own and to provide her son education and food. She wanted to move to New Zealand for a better life for her family.

She and her coworkers applied for a visa and only one came back with a sticker on it. Luckily, it was her. It was a big risk since she didn’t know anyone in New Zealand. But she found someone who could accommodate her. She first came to New Zealand in 2008 with a visitor’s visa. She attended many job interviews, but none were fruitful. She was told to get a proper working visa and come back. So she did. After five years of hard work, she finally got it and was working in the best workplace in the Philippines. She was working at an international organisation, with heaps of benefits and a good paycheck. In 2013, she finally migrated to New Zealand with her family that followed her after a couple of months.