RIYADH, 2 December 2005 — When Bunso joined the Philippine Embassy's shelter in Riyadh for distressed Filipino women to escape alleged abuses by a couple who adopted her, she started thinking like a distressed worker: hopeless and helpless.
Not anymore, thanks to a group of Filipino volunteers who continue to share their expertise in computers, free of charge.
Bunso (not her real name) was the youngest graduate of the “Bits and Bytes” program conducted by the Computer Society of Filipinos (Comsofil) last month for the wards of Bahay Kalinga (BK).
The temporary shelter maintained by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is for distressed Filipino female workers who are mostly domestic helpers.
But the BK admitted Bunso, a 14-year-old high school junior at one of the Philippine schools in Riyadh, to protect her from further harm. Bunso quit her studies and ran away from her adoptive parents in July, saying she could no longer take the maltreatment she got for every “single and minor” misdemeanor. She told the shelter's social workers that her adoptive father had sexually abused her.
Bunso came to Saudi Arabia in 1997 when she was only 7 years old, Arab News has learned.
She said that she has been in constant communication with her biological mother, who now works as a household help in Sampaloc, Manila. She said that her mother looks forward to meeting her and promised to take care of her. “I used to hate my mother for giving me away when I was just a baby but I was also thinking that maybe she had no choice that time because she could not afford to support me, so she gave me away for adoption,” she said.
She also looks forward to reuniting with four other siblings from her mother’s previous marriage.
The Assistance to Nationals Section (ANS) of the embassy said that Bunso may be repatriated early this month.
Now equipped with a little knowledge of computers, she’s hopeful that when she rejoins her biological mother in the Philippines, she will resume her studies.
“I am sure that the knowledge I gained from this computer program will be useful for my future as I start a new chapter of my life,” she said during their recent graduation ceremonies.
Archie Trigo, Comsofil president, said 21 other BK wards completed the course, which includes Windows XP and Microsoft Word. Among those who completed the course was Michaela delos Santos, a 49-year old BK ward.