Motivation Factors From Caregivers
So I really wanted to sit down with one of the Filipino caregivers I met at my talk the other week to learn about the typical life and motivation factors that help them come halfway across the world to work.
I thought that I might as well get more exposure to diversity in a way by taking my new friend MaBelle to an authentic Filipino restaurant where she can also introduce me to the cuisine. I just love this type of activity as it really helps me appreciate different cultures.
Turns out that MaBelle has been here in Canada for two years and worked for Hong Kong families for three years as well. She claims that her along with her colleagues who are also caregivers (nannies) pretty well work all the time. When finished with their official work weeks, they try to do odd jobs as well such as cleaning gigs.
All of this work is for the benefit of their families back home in the Philippines. This is the most important of motivation factors that drive them to continue what they do. On days off, they stay at a rooming house also owned by a Filipino. In this particular duplex, about eight individuals live there, much like an extended family away from family.
One interesting thing MaBelle told me was that they have an association of Filipino caregivers where they organize various events, including a beauty pageant where all the contestants are caregivers. I saw photos of some of these contestants, including MaBelle, who participated in the last one. Let me tell you, erase any former image that you might have of caregivers as some of these women are stunning.
Karate Champion Is Humbled
This karate champion, yours truly, is somewhat humbled by the sacrifice of these people, being away from their families for so far and so long. I told MaBelle that I can’t stand to be away from my two dogs for a week and that I won’t go on any longer trips unless these trips are really special. I guess my motivation factors are a bit different.
The Filipino lunch was superb thanks to MaBelle’s guidance. Fortunately, I caught some of it on video since I knew it would be a great opportunity to get interesting footage for a future episode of Motivational WebTV. I’ll shoot the rest of the video at home for commentary. Meanwhile, here’s a photo of us below from the restaurant.
Whatever motivation factors you may have for yourself, it’s extremely important to keep them top of mind so that they keep you on track with your goals whatever they may be. Sometimes I call these my sources of motivation and my very first episode of Motivational WebTV explored these in more detail.
