Despite the challenges we face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Filipinos continue to prove their resilience and spread the ‘Bayanihan’ spirit wherever they are in the world. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a group of Pinay international flight attendants banded together to help out fellow kababayans who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
In a video interview with Summit Media, FAs Mary Grace Castro, Rissy Rodriguez, and Vea Valenzuela shared what moved them to start a donation drive for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the country. It all started with Rissy’s post — she planned to cook food for her fellow Pinoys and after seeing it, Mary Grace decided to reach out and lend a hand.
They found 400 OFWs who lost their jobs due to the crisis. “Five months na silang walang trabaho, five months na silang hindi nakakain ng rice,” Mary Grace said. “Doon nag-come up ‘yung team namin to try to help.”
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A single mom herself, Mary Grace knows just how hard it is to be away from your family especially during this trying time. And to lose your job in the middle of the crisis was just heartbreaking. “The whole community here sa mga female flight attendants sa’min, maraming gustong tumulong,” she says.
Thanks to multiple donations, the FAs were able to provide essentials like food and personal hygiene kits to 400 Pinoys. “Nakakatuwa lang kasi na kahit lahat tayo nag-sa-struggle this pandemic, financially, mentally, ito pa ‘yung time na ‘Ay kaya pa pala natin tumulong,” Vea says.
The pandemic is hard for everyone, but this situation allowed them to look at things from a different perspective. “For us na OFW, we’re not just having a good time here, may mga taong nagugutom,” Mary Grace shared.
Watch the video below and be inspired by their story:
Flight attendants are known for going above and beyond their duties. Click here for the story of how they helped a repatriated OFW give birth to her baby mid-flight!
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