Marivic Perez - Indian High School (UAE) #TellYourStory

Have you ever heard the line "heroes don't wear capes,"?

 

This is about a hero in Marivic Perez, who turned her family's life around; a woman who faced emotional turmoil growing up and eventually succeeded.

 

"My parents got separated when I was just in the 5th grade." She and her siblings were constant spectators of their parents' fights before they split up. These fights were physically aggressive, uncontrollable, frequent, and even took place publicly "we knew how people pitied us but they couldn't do anything." When her parents separated, her father's mistress did not like them and took their place in their home at the time. Because of this, the father sent them to live in their grandparents' house where their mother could not even come to visit them. Her father made sure of that by always readying any means possible to throw her out on the street whenever she tried to visit. While deprived of her parents' presence, Marivic took the resposibility of taking care of the rest of her siblings with the help of their grandparents. This was a tall task for someone who was only in the 5th grade. Aside from being in school, she had to constantly be present when her siblings need her, and she also had to think of ways to help financially.

 

They survived in their grandparents' house, but emotional chaos and poverty still struck them in every angle.

 

Blessings arrived in their family in the form of a British missionary who had a small charity school in their neighboring municipality. This missionary helped Marivic complete her college degree as a secondary teacher. She worked hard at being a teacher in the missionary's school during the daytime and she still had the energy to go to college in the evening. In fact, she did things so exceptionally well that she even got a scholarship grant from her college! Once she graduated, she worked at the same charity school for 14 years. Aside from this being a form of giving back to the kind missionary, Marivic was making sure the children of prisoners, orphans, and the less fortunate children in the area had the opportunity she was so lucky to have received. She was able to help her community in every way possible, and on top of that, she gave hope by being a living example of overcoming hardships.

 

Fast forward a few years later, Marivic was blessed once more with two wonderful boys of her own, topped with an amazing husband. They had an intense desire to have a house of their own and to save money for their children's education. This is what motivated her to apply abroad with failure not being an option. "I sent my CV to workabroad.ph and after 2 weeks, I received a call from Universal Staffing for a physical interview with the employer. The Indian High School, Dubai."  She recalled she was the 40th candidate the CEO interviewed that day. "He saw my CV and said, 'You are the one I am looking for.' The following day he asked me to interview the remaining candidates on his behalf." She was given the position of assistant supervisor in KG 2 and coordinator for the Filipinos. "I also represent the school for recruitment. I was given the opportunity to be part of in-house training as well as training teachers of different nationalities from different schools! I am also a part of a team which represents the school for teaching and learning the best practices in Dubai." She is currently working on programs and curriculums for pre-primary. With hard work and complete dedication, she has continued to climb up the ladder of success once more!

  

Life has definitely changed for the Perez family. She is now able to help her siblings and support her mother. Marivic was also able to purchase land two years ago, and she is currently paying a monthly amortization for a new house and lot!

"My family once had to get water in a well"

Now her family has a connection to the tap, internet connection, and all the basic needs anyone can ask for. Marivic's children will not grow up yearning for the financial security her and her siblings yearned in their youth! She made sure to seize all opportunities that came her way. 

 

Just like Marivic, you could #GrabTheOpportUNIty now at Unistaff. Check out our Job Openings page and be up to date with international job vacancies.

 

 

Contents of this article were derived from Marivic's testimonial submitted to our Unistaff team.