Maria Christina Cabatbat Feyaerts sees herself spending the rest of her life taking care of the elderly at one of Belgium's biggest nursing homes.
"I want to dedicate the rest of my life here," Maria, 46, who lives in Tremelo, Belgium for more than 10 years, said.
Despite having worked in various industries like sales, hotels, airlines, and healthcare, Maria found working at the nursing home the "most fulfilling career."
"I feel happy and content working here. I feel passionate about helping older people. It is very rewarding," she told the Daily Tribune in an interview.
At the Geriatric Center Damien in Belgium, Maria found joy in showing genuine concern for the sick and vulnerable elderly, a Filipino trait, that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said, makes Filipino workers sought after here and abroad.
Moving on after a failed marriage, Maria was able to bring his family of five to Tremelo, a small municipality in Belgium with approximately 20,000 residents.
She remarried in 2010 to a Belgian national, which paved the way for her to acquire dual citizenship.
Maria said her concern for the sick, despite them being strangers, is certainly innate, but it even grew when she learned the life story of Father Damien, a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium.
Maria's workplace is named after Father Damien, who in 1864 was sent to a mission in Kalaupapa on the island of Hawaii, where hundreds of people were suffering from leprosy, a highly contagious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae.
Father Damien had the chance not to go to the mission, considering its high risks, yet he volunteered and vowed to take care of the sick and build homes for them with his own hands.
Maria enthusiastically says, "I feel inspired by Father Damien because he dedicated his life to helping sick people. His heroism is very much well-known in the whole of Belgium."
Like Father Damien, Maria wanted to show how Filipinos bring their hearts and mind to work.
Despite having an eight-hour day job, Maria is a hands-on mother, who usually starts her day by taking her two daughters to a community elementary school.
"My colleagues called me a buzzer-beater because I would always clock in with only a few minutes before my shift starts," Maria recalls.
Maria said she could not ask for anything more as she already fulfilled her responsibility of helping her sisters as the eldest among her siblings. Today, all her siblings work abroad.
Her life is fulfilled, she said, with only needing to look after her children and give them a good life, alongside her husband.
But life was not very easy for Maria, a native of Nueva Ecija province, as she started working at the age of 16 as a store attendant, selling cosmetics in a popular mall in Metro Manila.
That's how she came across the Alshaya Group of Companies British Human Resources, which helped start her career abroad.
Store manager in Dubai
Impressed with her working attitude and excellent service, company representatives offered her a job and took her to Dubai, United Arab Emirates to manage their newly-opened luxury store there.
"When I was there, I wanted to help my fellow Filipinos as much as I could," she recalled.
She did help several Filipinos make a living, but it did not end well for her. "Sometimes, it is your kababayan who would bring you down."
The "crab" got her, causing her to leave the company.
"I knew I had to find a job because my family depends on me. I have siblings to send to school."
She considered the peak of her career when she became a flight attendant at an international airline, giving her the chance to bring her mother to several countries.
"She visited Thailand and the US just like going to the market. If life has taught me one thing — it is to give everything that your Mom desires. I splurged to make her happy."
Looking back on her life, Maria said she cannot believe that she would achieve her dreams and live a contented life.
If she would be able to talk to her younger self, Maria said she would urge herself to continue working diligently to be able to see what God has in store for her.