The idea for this organization came through the personal experiences of the Founder and Webmaster. We have always been more than generous and understanding in offering assistance to our very close friends and family back home in the Philippines. Certainly those friends and family would agree to that statement.
However, some individuals back in the Philippines have tried to take advantage of the kind hearts of those Filipinos abroad and exploit them for financial reasons. Some of these people you barely know as acquaintances in school. Even people that we didn't know at all have tried to do this. People would ask for money when there is literally no money to offer. They would persist and beg over and over again pleading for help. It is a horrible helpless feeling to have someone begging for your help when you can provide no assistance to them. Furthermore, even if we were able to help some of these people you have to question whether their motives were genuine or just a fraud to extract money. And worse, we have found out that some person who asked for help from us before was a fraud. We are just one of the many victims of this kind of fraud.
Out of this frustration in constantly being asked for assistance from so many people, the fan page that started it all, was created. We did this to vent our frustrations, also to try to relate to other's feeling the same way we are feeling, and to reach out to those misunderstanding individuals in the Philippines to try to present some clarity into this stereotype of the rich Filipinos abroad. That is how our fan page came to be. The fan page was created on April 26, 2010 with the title "HINDI PORKE'T NASA ABROAD AKO, MAYAMAN NA! HINDI AKO BANKO!". Right from the very start, the response from Filipinos at home and abroad was tremendous. As of June 2010 the page has nearly 90,000 fans page and it is continuously growing. We are honored to have been able to provide the Filipino community a forum to interact and bond, whether they are making new friends abroad or opening up to family at home.
The fan page has not been all controversy and conflict either. One thing that has really warmed my heart about the fan page is the appreciation shown by all the members from the fan page for the hard work of myself and my husband for creating the fan page. My husband has been very supportive and proactive in helping to continually improve the fan page by creating many applications such as the Mabuhay Chatroom, Currency Convertion, and others. Many OFW's have commented that the page has helped them have a positive outlook in life, gain new good friends, and that makes us happy. There was also a touching story that occured through the fan page where someone was reunited with a family member that is abroad through the page and with the help of their fellow OFW's who are also fans of the page. Now they will be meeting their long lost family member.
Even though the fan page had started from a controversial issue, many good things have come from it. We have come to understand that there is a great need for broader communication in the Filipino community at home and abroad. We hope that those Filipinos both abroad and at home will be able to utilize the multiple communication platforms that we have conveniently combined in to one location. Through these platforms the global filipino community can talk about these controversial and common issues with flexibility and an open mind. With more communication and understanding, Filipinos can learn from each other's lives and experiences.
List of our Facebook Fan Pages:
HINDI PORKE'T NASA ABROAD AKO, MAYAMAN NA! HINDI AKO BANKO!
www.facebook.com/filipinosabroad
HINDI PORKE'T MAY ASAWA AKONG FOREIGNER, MAYAMAN NA! MUKHA BA AKONG ATM??!
www.facebook.com/filipinospouses
HINDI PORKE'T OFW AKO, MARAMI NA AKONG PERA! HINDI AKO BANKO!
www.facebook.com/ofwglobal
The following is a list of the people that contribute to the Filipinos Abroad.
Administration
- Sol - Founder, Writer, Consultant, Photographer
- Nate – Co-founder, Writer, Editor, Photographer, Webmaster
Contributors
- Nelson Lleno – Writer/Contributor
- Manang Kim – Writer/Contributor
- Ronna Asilo – Writer/Contributor
- Tsik Qui – Writer/Contributor
Facebook Fan Page Administrators
- SOL (USA)
- N@ (USA)
- Kulas (USA)
- Marie (USA)
- Sisa (UK)
- Kolokoy (UK)
- Cel (CANADA)
- Lukresia (CANADA)
- EMO (UAE)
- Gabsi (UAE)
- Basilio (PHILIPPINES)
- Crispin (PHILIPPINES)
- Maria La Del Baryo (HONG KONG)
- She (HONG KONG)
- JOHN (SAUDI ARABIA)
- Jewel (SINGAPORE)
- Julie mei lei (TAIWAN)
- P tacio (SEYCHELLES)
