Inspiring Kabayan Series two- the founder of HOPE, Sweet Chef Jam Vlog channel and my best friend - Mama Jam Fernandez

                        

               The first hotel that I stayed at in Manila back in 2000

I just wanted to give you the background to this series of blogs.  I first met an OFW ( Overseas Filipino Worker) in around the year 2000 when I was sent to the Makati Shangri-La hotel to recruit some OFW to work in Kuwait. We had thousands of applicants and it was heartbreaking to select the best looking males and females for the 12 or so vacancies. One lady I selected was on her final interview and my boss asked if I had any more questions for her. " Just one " I said " You mentioned before you want to work as an OFW in Kuwait so you can send your son to University" . She nodded. " How old is he?" " 6 weeks old". I just could not bear to part her and her young son and so we  rejected her . As he would now be 20 years old I always worry that I ruined his life by not offering her that job.

Typical adverts in Bahrain for cheap accommodation for OFW

I have been so impressed by all the OFW that I  have met over the last 11 years in Bahrain. They work for usually 2 years at a time without seeing their family. They send what little money they have home to support their siblings through college or paying for parents or aunts hospital treatments and so on. Most work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, and often they do part time work ( like my houseboys) on their days off, just to have extra money to send home. They live in shared accommodation with no privacy, often 2- 4 to a room, maybe 12 to a flat sharing one kitchen and one bathroom. On top of this they usually have an hours journey in a van to and from work each day. They live on rice and a little chicken and yet they are still the happiest people I know.

When you meet an OFW that, in spite of many forced changes of job, and changing country several times, falling in and out of love , but still finding the time and energy to support those less fortunate than himself back home , you know that you have to share his story. 

                               Our birthday card to Mama Jam in 2020  

Please meet Mama Jam Fernandez, or "Sweet Chef Jam" as his Vlog is called, who now works as a pastry Chef in Austria. I first met him in 2012 when he worked as a Pastry Chef with Tina and Coco at L'Hotel. He is not only a Chef but a talented artist and I bought some of his paintings which he sold to raise funds for his Kabayan affected by the Tsunami in Tacloban. I later hired him to make me an amazing birthday cake. Back in 2018 he introduced me to his charity HOPE and persuaded me to sponsor a young lady called Aimea. Since then I have joined him on several HOPE events in the El Nido area at Bagong Bayan, Sibaltan and Manlag and I now sponsor several young ladies and a boy .

                                  

                                            Aimae who I have sponsored since 2017
 

I am so looking forward to moving to Palawan when I get my visa and  sending more time supporting Jam in his charitable endeavors.  We have big plans for a mobile library and a HOPE Kitchen to teach the teenage kids how to cook.

     Myself, Jam and the Head Teacher at Manlag Elementary school in January 2020
 

If you want to learn how to cook check out his you Tube channel on: Sweetchefjam

Congratulations Jam on all you have achieved and for getting so many of your Kabayan to support HOPE from all around the world. 

If you want to find out more about HOPE please go to :

 HOPE

I will be back next week to share more tales of the OFW I have had the honor to have as my friends 

Until then Ingat Palagi, Kita Kits ....