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| As OWWA's ambassador, Pia helps promote health and wellness among OFWs |
“Confidently beautiful with a heart” is a mindset that Pia Wurtzbach-Jauncey has embraced since she was crowned Miss Universe in 2015, and is what she now espouses as an advocate of health and wellness for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Wurtzbach was in Hong Kong last Sunday, Sept. 7, as part of her volunteer work as an ambassador for the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
According to OWWA administrator PY Caunan, the beauty queen does not get paid for what she does for OFWs, and even pays for her own airfare when they go abroad together.
Coinciding with their visit was a health and wellness event at the OFW Global Centre, and the launch of virtual hub of LoveYourself, an advocacy group for HIV prevention and mental health for Filipinos, particularly OFWs.
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| PINDUTIN DITO |
Through the online hub,
OFWs can ask questions about sexual and mental health issues, which Wurtzbach
said is now particularly relevant because of a sudden spike in the number of Filipino
migrants getting infected with HIV.
Latest government
figures show that HIV infections jumped 500% in the first three months of this
year, compared to the same period last year, prompting the Department of Health
to recommend a declaration of national public health emergency.
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| An OFW fan took the chance to ask Pia for an autograph |
Wurtzbach was accompanied
in her visit by Love Yourself founder and executive director Ronivin “Vinn” G.
Pagtakhan, who evoked a lot of laughter from the audience with his quips on how
OFWs can practice self-love, including indulging in sexual pleasures.
“Importante na alam ninyong pasayahin ang sarili ninyo,” he said, to
the delight of the mainly female audience. (It’s important that you know how to
pleasure yourselves).
Pagtakhan told the OFWs
HIV is no longer the dreaded disease it used to be, as there are now at least
two cases of patients who have been declared virus-free after treatment. But
prevention is still the key to preventing its spread.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Wurtzbach took the chance
to relate her experiences as an OFW herself. She said her mother worked as a caregiver
in the United Kingdom for 10 years. When her mother got married to a foreigner,
Wurtzbach who was then still a minor and a struggling actress, was forced to
follow her.
That was when she experienced
“yung hirap, yung pagod” (the
hardship and physically tiring life) of a Filipino migrant worker.
She said she waited on tables
at a hotel and did odd jobs, like working as receptionist in a realty company
and distributing flyers. It was while working at the hotel that she decided to enroll
in a culinary course.
All the while, she said
she was longing to go back home, so that when she had saved up enough, she decided
to fly back to Manila, and began joining beauty contests. The rest, as they now
say, is history.
