It is hard to work as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). Working with other nationalities is adaptable but living away from your family is not. It is heartbreaking to know that you will be away from your loved ones and cannot celebrate special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, and even special holidays like Christmas and New Year.

That is why OFWs are now known as the Modern Day Heroes. They are willing to sacrifice more than what they have just to bring food to their family’s tables and send their children to school.

After Three Years of Being Apart

This family’s story is something that all OFWs can relate to. It is the story of sacrifice and hard work for the sake of their family. It is difficult to endure the distance and the sadness of being away from your family, especially if you have children involved.

After three years of being apart, an OFW father and his two daughters were finally reunited. The reunion was a tear-jerking and emotional moment for the family. The Facebook video was uploaded by the OFW’s sister-in-law, Juv. P. Montaner, and has gone viral since then. The video shows the father and daughter’s reunion that took place at a Jollibee branch in Tubod, Iligan City.

The Story

The father named Glenn works as a nurse in Dubai and has not been able to come home for more than three years. Meanwhile, the mother is in Bohol to finish her Doctorate. The daughters, Breanna and Chayyen, had to undergo a series of difficulties and struggles on their own. They were in Bohol when a big earthquake shook the province in 2013, so they had to relocate to Malawi City to live with their relatives. When the war in Malawi started, they had to travel for ten hours just to be away from the war zone.

Despite all these struggles, the biggest challenge they had to endure was being away from their parents. Although they understand the reason why their parents are away, they sill long for their family to be completed especially during special occasions.

The Surprise

Glenn planned to surprise the kids a few days before Chayyen’s 8th birthday. He coordinated with the manager at Jollibee to allow Glenn to wear a Jollibee cap and pretend to be a service crew to deliver food for his daughter.

The daughters did not recognize Glenn at first, but Breanna noticed that bracelet that Glenn was wearing. This bracelet is the same one that her sister made for their dad. It was something that the father does not take off as a reminder of his daughter and to comfort him during the hard times.

You may watch the whole video here:

Being away from your family is hard. However, for the comfort of their families, OFWs have no other choice but to live far away from their loved ones.

To all OFWs, we salute all of you!