Joy Monlen and Chona Bernabe left for the United Arab Emirates more than two decades ago to seek better work opportunities and help their families. From being ordinary employees working for Arabs, they now run their own restaurants and salon in Abu Dhabi.
Tomorrow (Sept 24) in “My Puhunan,” broadcast journalist Karen Davila tells the story of how the two friends realized their dream of putting up a business and having a more comfortable life.
Joy used to work as a cook to help her family in Cebu, all the while enduring her employer’s abuse for almost 18 years. She would later meet Chona at a gathering of Filipinos.
In 2008, they opened Pinoy Golden Fastfood. They are particularly proud of helping their fellow kababayans by hiring Filipinos. They also put up a Filipino-style “shabu-shabu” restaurant in 2009 and launched a salon this year.
Aside from their success story, Karen also shares tips for saving money and investing, particularly for OFWs. A lot of OFWs come home remain poor despite years of working abroad. In the episode, Karen, along with non-government organization ATIKHA, teaches
OFWs and their families how they should spend and set aside some of their money for savings and investments.