Meet this Filipina in Dubai who lost her job due to Covid-19 but chose to help her fellow kabayans

Reeza Reno Saluta

Meet this Filipina in Dubai who lost her job due to Covid-19 but chose to help her fellow kabayans

image credit: supplied

Reeza Rena Saluta, a Dubai-based overseas Filipino worker, found her prime purpose in life overseas. One of the most selfless things she did was when she had lost her job as a beauty advisor for Dubai Duty Free but chose to help her fellow Filipinos who are also in dire need. One of the most selfless things she did was when she had lost her job as a beauty advisor for Dubai Duty Free but chose to help her fellow Filipinos who are also in dire need.

Despite hitting rock bottom and feeling depressed, thinking how she would survive and go on with her dreams, she was still prayerful to God for guidance.

Saluta, who grew up fatherless, has been living now in the host country for eight years now and was directly hired from the Philippines through a recruitment agency. She started from scratch and was later on promoted to be a beauty advisor of one of the luxurious skincare brands in the world. As luxurious as the brand, she was living a comfortable life until she was laid off due to the pandemic.

Anxious, while searching for a new job, Saluta has experienced getting scammed by a recruiter. “I experienced a lot of things which our fellow kababayans are experiencing in Dubai, and that was an eye-opener for me. Life in Dubai is not all about treasures and gold,” she said, adding that her time being on furlough became a way to lead a small donation drive for the fire victims in Sharjah last year.

Saluta, along with her friends, went to the hotel where the fire victims were housed to offer the hotel management a little help. “We saw how Filipinos are persistent, and witness their courage and determination to survive. It was heartbreaking to see the less fortunate people victimized by many catastrophes happening in this world. I would love to be a source of inspiration today and share my experiences in my little ways that in this journey, Filipinos have great faith in God and that what makes us stand tall amidst uncertainties. We value bayanihan, we don’t lose the heart and our smiles are even brighter, full of confidence in the future even during these trying times,” she added. Early life

Being fatherless since she was two, Saluta said she had faced a fair share of hustles and struggles while living with her single mother with her two siblings. Left with the obligation to provide her child with a bright future, her mother flew to Hong Kong to work as a domestic worker. When the time her mother came back after seven years, Saluta was already 14. “Seeing my mom struggling being alone, never ask for support from my father, who abandoned us for three decades, was indeed unimaginable,” she said. Her family’s life story was once featured on the online show Buhay OFW TV.

Before following her mother’s footsteps as an OFW, she worked as the branch manager for a car accessories company in the Philippines. Urged by her mother to work abroad, she decided to embark on an overseas journey in 2013. In her tenure at Dubai Duty Free, she was an active employee receiving awards for her hard work. On the sidelines, she was also doing hosting jobs, performing annually at the Irish Village almost every year for their company party. Saluta is one of the pioneer members of Dubai Duty Free Nightingales Choir that competed across the Middle East for acapella competition.

Through the same company, it led her to many roads, including meeting big personalities. Almost every year, she shared that she was able to travel from one country to another. “One of my best memories was when my mom and my brothers were able to be with me in Dubai and spent a threeday vacation in Singapore,” she recalled.

After a year of darkness, Saluta found her cup of hope by managing the concept store 971. ninesevenone in Ajman Heritage Village. According to her, the owner of the business, who is also the director of Ajman Tourism, Mr. Saleh Algeziry, entrusted her to spearhead the branch.

“My journey wasn’t all about Dubai spotlight, flying on the airplane, touring the world, performing on stage, and wearing signature brands. My discovery about myself this pandemic was a testimony, to become our own hero for our families and to help out the needy in difficult times, that’s what makes us true Filipino from the heart,” she added.