'Bolton Angels':
Pinay nannies in Ontario

The "Bolton Angels" (front row, L-R) Ida Pamorca, Mary Canon, Ana Rovina Amida, celebrant's wife Dina Natan, Mary Ann Arbon (back row) Nora Licop of Toronto, Marites de la Paz, Maria Ana Paunil and Marivic Sia during the recent birthday bash of John Philip Policarpio (not in photo) in Bolton.*

BOLTON, Ontario, Canada - They call themselves the "Bolton Angels," a small group of women who hail from different parts of the Philippines, and have come together under one roof here. For most, the road leading to Bolton, a rural area northwest of Toronto, was a bumpy ride.

The "Bolton Angels" have bonded together, not only because of their ethnicity, but more importantly, because of shared goals and aspirations for the future. By finding each other, they have forged a support group needed by anyone who comes to work alone in a foreign land. The clique is an answer to the need to belong, and to have someone to lean on to when everything and everyone seems unfamiliar.

Mostly in their 30s, the "Bolton Angels" are primarily on work permits as Live-in Caregivers and entered Canada either directly from the Philippines or from HongKong and Singapore. They all represent the first generation of their families to have landed in Canada, and all hope to settle down here as landed immigrants after working the required 24 months of the LC Program as nannies.

WEEKENDERS

The women live together as weekenders in an old apartment building in Temperance Street, Bolton after working five days a week as live-in nannies with their respective employers. The 2-bedroom apartment comes to life at 7 pm Friday when the nannies start arriving. It becomes a second home to about 10 women until early Sunday evening when they again return to their employers homes.

The full time resident in the apartment, however, is 28-year-old Mary Ann Arbon, of Tagbilaran City, who came to Canada as a landed immigrant. She works full-time as a receptionist in a doctor's clinic here, and is a part-timer in the supermarket chain, Zher's. Arbon is the only person holding an immigrant status among the women.

As Ida Pamorca, 39, married, of Taytay, Goa, Camarines Sur puts it "There are a lot of drama in the house, always a lot of things going on. But we sympathize with each other and do what we can to ease each other's discomforts and pains."

BONDING, SUPPORT

Marivic Sia, 32, married, of Masbate, Bicol, added "It's really good to have this group, especially when you get sick. You know that someone will take care of you." She lamented that she had been up almost all night because of a nasty headache, and she was fortunate to be at the apartment when it happened.

Indeed, the women know who among them have chronic back pains and migraines. They know who has a weak stomach and who needs massages at the end of the week.

Sometimes, we don't get decent sleep in the apartment if things are unpleasant back home, Pamorca added. "Last night, Tess got a call from her sibling in the Philippines that her mom was taken to the hospital, and she was crying most of the night," she said.

However, that is exactly the support system that these women need. The have each other to hold on to when the going gets rough.

Asked how they pass the time away during their days off, Pamorca grinned and returned the question "What day off? There is no day off, we work on weekends as well." It turns out that the women work together in groups of threes cleaning houses or offices during the weekend. They get work referrals by word of mouth.

T.G.I.F.

After they start coming in one by one and finish unpacking their bags, Friday night progresses slowly with a continuous flow of food that would be useful until 3 a.m. They chatter away about how their week went, and finalize plans on who is going with whom, on which cleaning job. Some are busy making long distance phone calls back home. Though the TV is turned on, no one is paying much attention to it.

Ana Rovina Amida, 35, married, of Dumaguete City, was busy counting the group's coop money. Amida said they have formed a "Paluwagan (coop)" to which they give $100 a month and the stipend is $1,200. That night was De la Paz's turn to be compensated.

Maria Ana Paunil, 39, single, of Camarines Sur, said there is usually so much going on until 3 a.m., that's why there is always food ready to be heated up. "Most of us have recently learned this card game Tong-its (spin off of mahjong), and we have fun with 10 cents bets," Paunil said.

HALF-WAY HOUSE

Jeanne Julao, 37, single, of Porac, Pampanga, said the apartment has also become a stopover of everyone on the way to Toronto, and from Toronto.

Maritess De La Paz, separated, of Laguna, said they live like refugees in the apartment with six persons sleeping in one bedroom, and four others in the living room.

THE LONG ROAD

For two of the women, the road to being immigrants is only a few months away. Edina Bannawel, 28, married, of Baguio City, is expecting to get her immigrant status by May or June, this year.

Bannawel worked as a nanny in HongKong before coming to Canada. She said she has included her husband and son in her petition adding that it's not easy as it took her almost five years.

"You have to work continuously for two years as a nanny, then after that you have to wait for about nine months to a year for the Canadian government to process your open work permit application. After this you work on your petition for immigrant status," she added.

Sometimes, hitches happen that could delay the paper work and the waiting becomes long and painful. And most of the time, patience is the name of the game.

For Maria Deonisa Canon, 26, of Iloilo City, that patience is paying off. She is expecting to get her immigrant status this month. She is going back home in May to get married to her boyfriend of five years. "I will only stay there for a month, though, then I'm coming back here and petition him as my husband," Canon said.

Canon said she will still work as a nanny even after she becomes an immigrant as she was not able to upgrade her skills during her two year stint as a sitter. "I plan to go back to school after my husband-to-be comes over. We planned it this way so that he can work while I go to school," she said.

UPGRADING

In a country of ethnocultural diversity, Canadian companies will not bother to hire anyone who has not upgraded skills in Canadian schools.

De la Paz said that as a caregiver she is able to save money because she does not have to pay utility bills by living with her employer. "After my 24 months are up I would still work as a nanny, maybe until my children come over," she added.

De la Paz had a hard time getting approval for her caregiving papers. She entered Canada as a tourist even though she had attended a Canadian embassy recognized caregiving school back home. It took her one year and over $1,000 Ca before she was given a work permit by the Canadian government.

"In my first year here I could not afford to get sick. I was sleeping all over Toronto in the homes of my friends. I had to rely on used clothes given to me. I was basically walking on thin ice left with two unattractive choices: go to the United States as an illegal alien or wait it out here in Canada and hope for the best. Thank God, my papers were approved after I got a lawyer to contest my denial, so here I am now," she said.

Asked why it was not a choice to go back home, De la Paz said there is nothing left back home as they already sold their meat shop and eatery businesses. "Life was getting harder and harder for me. In order to feed my 13-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl, I started to do anything for money like drive my friends around for P200, or deliver medicines for my sibling so I can get the driver's pay," she said.

FUTURE PLANS

Pamorca, meanwhile, said it's really better here since she has the chance to do something else and the choice not to be a nanny forever. She worked for 10 years in HongKong as a nanny before coming over. "Here, after you upgrade your skills like take computer classes or take up Personal Support Worker you have a chance of doing other things," she said.

She said she plans to learn how to drive in May. "It is very important to be able to drive here because there are no buses in this part of the town. If you want to go places you need to drive. This is my priority now."

Julao, meanwhile, said she didn't know it is so hard to be single. "Everybody is depending on you. From your mother, to your siblings and your nephews and nieces," she said.

Julao used to work for Senator Lito Lapid when he was still a governor. "When Mt. Pinatubo erupted, that was it for me. I had to find something else with higher pay. From the P4,200 I earned every month from the local government I would only keep P1,200 for myself to cover transportation and meal expenses, and gave the rest to my mother," she said.

However, it got more difficult when their house was destroyed by the volcanic eruption and she was forced by fate to work as a nanny in HongKong. From there, she found her way to Canada.

Julao said it is a never ending struggle to be somewhere in life. Her latest worry now is how to raise around P400,000 so that her sister and her husband can apply as landed immigrants here.

There is always something to work for, always something to worry about, always a goal to pursue, and always a dream to reach. Their life stories may different, but all are interwoven into one reality. Life, wherever you maybe, is how you make it to be.*

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