IN LIFE, there comes a point, sometimes unexpectedly, that we have to face bigger waves. For a Bacoleño seafarer, who is among thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) hit by the prevailing pandemic, the seas he sailed was really rough. But with optimism, he was able to still traverse.
Five years ago, 30-year-old Raul Javier Jr. or "RJ" as his family and friends would call him, of Barangay Taculing in Bacolod City, started catching his dreams in the other side of the world.
In September 2015, his desire to look for better opportunities brought him in the waters of Europe. He was able to work at a casino in a luxury passenger ship based in the United Kingdom.
A nursing graduate back in 2010, he first worked in a call center company here for a year. Javier then ventured a new job as a casino dealer at Resorts World Manila for three years.
"While working in Manila, I was also applying for a cruise ship work through online and walk-in application. Luckily, I got a call one day," Javier recalled, adding that he actually wanted to pursue his nursing profession, but the limited opportunity for nurses during that time and the rising financial needs of his family pushed him to shift career path.
In the first few months of his job as a seafarer in the UK, which is also his first visited country outside the Philippines, it was a major adjustment for Javier given the different time zone, culture and system of work, and being alone with his family. But he knew his core, he never loses focus on his purpose, and so he endured the five years of working in a ship.
His work as a casino cage manager at various luxury ships of Carnival Cruise Lines has enabled him to save up, support his family, help for the hospitalization of his father, set aside for some investments including a condominium unit and travel in almost all countries in Europe.
"I really worked hard. I really made sure not to experience the hardships I went through before," Javier said, adding that "it was really a rewarding job for me."
Not until March 15 of this year, at the height of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, when he received a sad news.
Following the "termination" of their contracts, they were brought to the Philippines on April 19. What is more painful for Javier, on that same day, his father succumbed to stage four pancreatic cancer.
"I was on a cabin quarantine in Manila for 42 days, I was mourning for the death of my father there. I was not able to see him until his last day," he recalled, adding that "it was somehow traumatic but as I get to reflect, there's something that drives me not to be swallowed by anxiety and depression. It was my faith in Him."
Javier further shared that "I just thought of my happy memories with my father. I talked to my friends in the quarantine. I constantly kept in touch with my family. I remained positive that life has to go on, that I have to be strong for my family."
Like other returning OFWs, he went through a lot of health protocols. Javier tested negative for two swab tests. He arrived in Bacolod City on June 4 but was able to come home on June 18.
For almost six months now, he has no work and has no assurance if he can still go back to the seafaring job as to when will the pandemic end remains uncertain.
But, he told himself not to stay in one corner of their house and just do nothing. He started to think of a business. So from a seafarer and traveler, he is now an entrepreneur.
The bachelor ventured into providing fogging services for cars, offices and restaurants. This is a good business as you only need to capitalize on equipment and solution so the return on investment is quite big, he said.
Javier likes adventures. Aside from traveling, he is also a foodie. Thus, he also started to cook and sell his own version of ube cheese turon which he learned from videos on Youtube. To his surprise, many of his friends would usually order.
Also, he is currently helping in his sister's food business called "Git-Go Frozen Cheesecakes." He is the one preparing the toppings using their own version of caramel drizzle and peanuts, and even deliver to their clients.
"Our frozen cheesecakes have been gaining more clients especially now that we are already linked to food delivery service providers like Food Panda and Deliserve," he said, adding that in October, we target to open our cafè just in front of our house."
Javier never ran out of ideas and enthusiasm. He is also into artwork making now. He plans to make a DIY [do it yourself] frames and try to sell them.
As the only boy of the five siblings, he now somehow stands as a father of the family.
"We can never know when the rainy days would come, good thing I was able to prepare for it so it was not that too hard," he said.
Amid the global crisis that affected his career, Javier still believes that he is truly blessed as aside from the means to survive day by day, he and his family are safe from the contagious virus disease.
If there's one lesson he learned from this pandemic, it is having a positive outlook in life. That, no matter how rough the seas are, we just keep on sailing.
Javier shared that never had he thought to stop believing and reaching for his dreams. If given the chance, he will go back to seafaring and continue exploring the opportunities the world may offer.
"Everything shall come to pass and while everything has yet to normalize, we should do something to cope," adding that "in business, we just have to be resourceful and imaginative. Innovation and reinvention is the key."
He urged fellow OFWs to be strong and to stay positive. "Let us find happiness in everything we do. Most of all, never stop praying. We will surely rise again."