According to the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department of the Philippines government, there were 2.157 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in 2023. That's a number, a statistic. What does it mean? Who are the millions of people who leave their families, and their lives in the Philippines behind in order to make a living?
Gen Quimba, the author of The Journey of Life: A Story of Love, Loss, and Unbreakable Hope tells us who they are. She opens the door and gives insight into the motivation for going abroad to work and she allows us to share the experience of being away from home for many, many years.
While books in this genre--informal autobiography--are often self serving, in this case we are spared that perspective. The author is frank, about her motivation, her missteps, her accomplishments and her regrets.
There are not a lot of regrets. Gen Quimba came from a family of nine, a rural family. Her parents were a love match but love does not always pave an easy path in life. Quite the contrary sometimes. Life decisions in a love match, such as who to marry and whether or not to have children, are not pragmatic. They are driven by emotion. That doesn't always offer the ideal outcome for the children in such a home.
In the case of Gen Quimba there was always love around her, but not always the material provisions that offer a comfortable life. Food was often in short supply. The resources for building a future life were essentially in her own hands. Her equipment for moving forward, for providing for herself, was her intelligence, ambition and skill.
Remarkably, this author does not cast aspersions on others. She does not look for scapegoats as she describes her not-always-smooth journey in life. She assumes responsibility for herself.
She herself falls in love and has a child. This relationship has a profound influence on her life, because she wants to provide for her child. She wants her child never to lack food, or the essentials that eluded her when she was growing up.
This need to provide for her child prompts her to seek employment abroad. It's a rough path, finding a suitable employer when one is so far from home. There has to be a cultural affinity. There has to be a match of skills and temperament. This was not always the case with the author.
Her first experience abroad was in Singapore. This was not a good match. Eventually she did find an employer in Hong Kong who not only appreciated her talents but who also encouraged her to develop her skills and qualifications. As she describes this employer, husband and wife, they seem to be admirable people. These people did not see Gen Quimba as a tool, as something to make their lives easier. They saw her as a person, a human being with potential and with an individual destiny.
As I read this book I felt a sense of gratitude toward the people who tried to give Gen Quimba the opportunity to develop as an individual, not just as an employee.
All the years that Gen Quimba was abroad, her partner and father of her child, Melvin, was taking care of her son. She sent money home, not only to them but to extended family.
The reality of the OFWs impact on domestic Philippines economy is illustrated in this book. The worker supports not only the nuclear family, but also becomes a source of revenue for extended family. The economic importance of OFWs in the larger Philippine economy is demonstrated on this individual level.
As the book closes Gen Quimba has returned home to live. Her partner, Melvin, has died suddenly. Now she is alone as she raises her son. Now she truly has only her own resources from which she must find the means to provide for her child and herself.
Ever ambitious and forward-looking, Gen Quimba opens a small business. The many years in Hong Kong have turned this woman, who once had poor cooking skills, into a chef of sorts. Gen Quimba will sell the delicacies she has learned to prepare over the years.
She is making a home for herself and her son, but it is in a community of squatters, so she must take care to protect herself and her son. This author is our own Gen Quimba on Hive. She has shared on Hive over many weeks pictures of her new home as she painted it and prepared it to be a comfortable living space.
I've been a follower of Gen Quimba on Hive for some time now. Her journey is not new to me, but this book did open my eyes. This Hive blogger is a human being. She has struggled. She has lost and she has won. As I regard her now I see a road ahead with many challenges, but I see her continuing to win. That fortune will be premised on fate and, more importantly on the character of this woman. It is that character which has carried her through the rough patches in life and which will serve her in the path ahead.
You can read Gen Quimba's blog here: 
You may purchase this book on Amazon in Kindle and paperback form. It's a pleasant read at 145 pages.