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Sixty-year-old Erlinda Balbuena, a native of Nueva Ecija
province in the northern Philippines, got a pleasant
surprise last May 5, 2006 as she was being presented a plane
ticket during the Grand National Finals of TFC POPSTAR for
Saudi Arabia at the Philippine Embassy.
Apparently
on cue, three young children went on stage and presented to
her some pocket money for her trip home. What was totally
unexpected was the sudden outpouring of sympathy from the
crowd.Touched by the example shown by the three kids, almost
everyone from the crowd rose and gave their own donations,
literally flooding Nanay Erlinda – as she is fondly called
at the Bahay Kalinga shelter – with riyals and other
currencies.
The crowd
grew emotional when “Ugoy ng Duyan” a Philippine lullaby,
was played.
“I have
never cried even if I got homesick, but this is so
touching”, said Olan Bacani, a member of SE productions,
which donated the one-way ticket.
Nanay
Erlinda herself cried unabashedly. “Thank you! Thank You!,
she said. “I guess, I’ll be home at last!”.
SE
Productions, which was contracted by ANS-CBN Global to
conduct the TFC Popstar contest in the Kingdom gave Nanay
Erlinda a special treatment because of her unusual
circumstances of her case.
A widow and
mother of two, she came to the Kingdom in 1991 to seek her
fortune. To her dismay, she ended up like many other
domestic helpers; overworked, underpaid and abused.
Her 600SR
monthly pay was barely enough for her poor children. When
she got sick, she had to spend her own earnings for
medicines. For 15 long years, she was not allowed to go on
vacation at least once by her employer, despite her advance
age.
There was
not a single day when I wouldn’t think of my children at
home. I just cried and hoped that one day, we would be
reunited.” She narrated in Filipino during the show.
Nanay
Erlinda said she was never allowed to leave the house by her
employer. Whenever she asked for vacation, all she got were
promises. She said she had long thought of leaving, but
always lost heart.
Early this
year, however, she and a fellow domestic helper started
plotting their escape. With only SR2,000 in her wallet, they
ran away and rendezvoused with some compatriots at Batha,
the favorite shopping place of Filipinos in Riyadh. She was
then brought to Bahay Kalinga, the Philippine Embassy’s
shelter for runaway women.
“I had no
clue where and what Batha was”, said Nanay Erlinda, who flew
home Saturday night.
According
to Rani Basanta, Chief Executive Officer of SE Productions,
the donation consisted of 9,932 riyals, 5 euros, 5 Bahrain
dinars and 670 pesos. Under current exhange rates, the total
amount is more than 137,000.00.
“Hindi ko
basta gagastusin ang halagang ito dahil ito ang tanging
alaala ng mga tumulong para makauwi ako (“I’ll make sure
that this donation won’t be squandered”), she said, adding
that she planned to put up a sari-sari (variety) store.
Those who
contributed to Nanay Erlinda’s pocket money were just as
happy as she was for making her regain her footing. To them,
grandma was the celebrity of the night. She was even more
popular than singer Alma Shiela Allen of Al Khobar, eh was
named Most Popular TFC PopStar for winning the most votes
via the Internet.
“For me,
grandma’s narration of her story tonight was the most
memorable. It eclipsed the winning songs of Jasmine and
Kimverlie because here story is the story of many of our
compatriot women who sacrifice their comfort and security at
home in hopes of making life better for their families”, an
emotional mother said.
Nanay
Erlinda with CEO Rannie Basanta.
CEO Basanta's Speech
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