DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who lost her father to cardiac arrest when she was four years old, as well as her husband in a car accident as they were building a family, has built herself up again, looking to help broken people rebuild their lives.
Thirty-six-year-old Kezia Sarah Barbosa of Calamba, Laguna, said she wanted to become a life coach “to reach out to people and rebuild themselves despite the chaos that they’ve been through or are experiencing, and to let them know na may mga naka-uunawa sa kanila (somebody understands them) and that it is normal to feel low sometimes.”
Having just recently obtained her certification to be a professional life coach from a US-based, online education company, Barbosa said it has always been her advocacy to make people “realize that their current state is not their final destination.”
“Time and again, I always mention that the best approach to life’s hardship is alchemizing the situation into an empowering experience,” she said in a Facebook post. “To those who have shared their experiences with me and allowed me to share things that I have learned — you’ve been my inspiration.”
Support group
Barbosa said she and a fellow OFW formed a support group last year to help provide breathing space for fellow women going through harsh times.
“We have members from different nationalities. We formed this group because we know that being an expat often makes us feel alone and isolated, and women, especially, tend to feel all the emotions. Sometimes they think it’s a weakness to entertain their melancholy but it is normal and my purpose is to let them know that,” Barbosa said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“What we do is we meet to catch up. It’s like opening up about each other’s current emotional state. If one of us is having issues, they can open up, no judgment. Then, we do journaling. If they are comfortable sharing it, then [that’s] okay. If it’s too personal for them, we give them time, and it’s fine if they choose to dodge the idea. It’s a support system,” Barbosa said.
She said they share inspirational books amongst themselves during meetings held at coffee shops, parks, and youth centers.
Barbosa noted that some people tend to complain a lot about their present state not knowing that others were in a much worse position.
“We can not appreciate the beautiful things if we haven’t experienced the ugly ones. Blessings are everywhere. We just have to learn where to look,” she said.
‘Ugly ones’
Barbosa, fourth of seven children, has had a lot of the “ugly ones,” or bad experiences. Their lives were abruptly upended when their father died.
“We needed to be separated. My big brother and I grew up at our grandmother’s place. Our younger days were not easy. We had to work to save money for our needs in grade school,” she said. She never got to see her other siblings since.
Her brother became a bakery helper while she washed dishes at an eatery, Barbosa recalls.
“Sometimes, we’d repack black peppers, sugar, and cooking oil, among others. We’d also do our classmate’s visual aid assignments to have money for snacks in school,” she said.
Barbosa went to college through a congressman’s scholarship. Her grandmother having passed on by then, Barbosa worked as a Jollibee crew member and student assistant by day and as a graphic artist at night to pay for her rent and have money for food. She was also a leader at their school’s student council and a writer at their campus paper.
She pushed on with college despite being discouraged by relatives. “I remember saying I wanted to finish college, to which the reply was, ‘You’d get married anyway. Don’t go to college. You won’t amount to anything.’”
With all the challenges and hard work, Barbosa became ill and was diagnosed with borderline leukemia. “My world was almost shattered when I learned about it,” Barbosa said.
She nonetheless got a diploma in information technology from the People’s Center for Science and Technology in Calamba, and a bachelor’s degree in human resources development management from New Era University in Quezon City.
Tragedy
Barbosa got married, but her husband died in a car accident just as they were starting a family. She had a three-year-old son at the time, and another baby on the way.
“It was a big blow that taught me many lessons. I needed to go over the plans that were all lost with the death of my husband. I remember not hearing what the doctor was telling me about the specific cause as I was just standing there, holding my son tight and praying,” she said.
“I asked God what he was telling me. Why? Wasn’t it bad enough that my father was gone? Now, my kids’ father is gone, too? I have been a good person. But why this?” Barbosa said.
She said she went through a very heart-wrenching moment explaining to her son, who was actually too young to fully understand, that his father will not be coming home anymore because “he has gone to that place where we will all be together someday.”
“I tried hard to hold my tears. I should not let my son see I was crying. I needed to be strong and show my son that I am.”
Dubai
Soon, what she was making as a human resources administrator, a customer service representative, and a private tutor, was not enough to raise her kids.
And so Barbosa flew to Dubai on an employment visa in February 2015, hired in the Philippines by a big UAE telecom company as customer representative, leaving her sons to the care of her big brother.
She’d stay the course until April 2024 when she moved to do a lot of things as a freelancer: a real estate broker, content creator, commercial artist, model, personal tutor, brand endorser, promoter, make-up artist, and even an indie film engagement worker, where she did production work and took on roles in movies that garnered up to 13.5 million views.
Barbosa has brought three of her siblings to the city where they are now working. Her sons are also finally living with her.
Sharing her story
Looking back, she said: “It was a hard battle. But, the hardest fight is given to the toughest soldiers.”
Barbosa, along with nine other OFWs, recently won accolades through an initiative by a logistics company. Named “Dakilang Manggagawang Pilipino (DMP) sa UAE 2024,” the awards gave recognition to the contributions of OFWs.
This year’s DMP campaign began with an online nomination process, attracting around 200 nominations. After a thorough screening, the top 20 candidates were selected to present their stories to a group of panelists. Through heartfelt narratives, they showcased their commitment to excellence in various aspects of life, ultimately leading to the selection of the top ten finalists. Barbosa placed third. – Rappler.com
