Joy Adalia
Iries Jane Benlot, who goes by the handle “Sweetybabes Iriesh” on Facebook, is a nurse midwife who currently works as a domestic helper in Taiwan. Despite having a good salary in this foreign country and being financially independent of her parents, Benlot is being bashed by many former classmates and acquaintances who mock her for being “just a domestic helper” when she is actually a professional who could have gotten a white collar job.
Her detractors pointed out that what she has been doing abroad could not be considered a success since she is just a domestic helper. Despite the bashing, Benlot is proud of herself and what she has achieved in Taiwan.
While many believe that success means having an expensive car, owning a palatial home, and a enjoying a high position in the corporate world or owning a business, there are many who define success as having all basic needs covered, with a few extras like having ample time for the family and enough money to live comfortably.
In Benlot’s case, her bashers believe that a job as a factory worker in Taiwan would have been better than being a domestic helper. Benlot herself is not complaining about her life in Taiwan at all.
In fact, Benlot has enjoyed her 10-year stay in Taiwan because not only is she able to buy the things she wanted, she has been able to travel to other places and learned many things. Plus, she has helped a lot of people despite her “lowly” job as a domestic helper.
Several netizens who defended Benlot pointed out that though she is working as a household worker, she is probably enjoying a salary higher than what she would have received from a local job as a nurse-midwife. Also, Benlot herself is proud of her job, adding that it is a respectable one and one that has helped her learn many things/
