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[ soles & stories JRDN ] Sally

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Not many stories start in Guam, but Sally has a life full of interesting twists and turns, and Guam happened to be the first of a few varied locations she has traveled to for work.

That initial journey to Guam was twenty-five years ago and since then Sally has spent many years working away from her home and family in the Philippines.

It was 1994 when Sally first came to work in Jordan as a domestic helper, and after a short amount of time she found herself moving through the Middle East to continue work in Saudi Arabia. Her time in Saudi Arabia was hard and she describes the restrictions placed upon her and the working conditions as something she would not like to return to.

One place she had no problem returning to however, was home. After finishing in Saudi Arabia Sally moved back to the Philippines where she stayed for nearly ten years, caring for her family. While being with her children was important Sally describes her situation in the Philippines as very tough, and after struggling for a long time to find consistent work and provide her family with all that they needed, she made the decision to again travel for work.

So for the second time Sally found herself working in Jordan, and this time she has stayed for nearly seven years.

Unfortunately over that time the struggles that saw Sally leave home have become the same struggles faced by her children, with jobs hard to come by and their children, Sally’s grandchildren, needing more.

And so, just over a year ago, through the help of her employers in Jordan, Sally was joined in Jordan by her daughter Aisha. Sally hadn’t seen her daughter in six long years, and even though Aisha needed to leave her children to work, Sally says she loves having her daughter with her, and loves being able to spend time with her.