Aqualina L. Dacillo – Customer Service Specialist

Hi, my name is Aquilina Langa Dacillo, I turned 59 years of age this year.

I am the eldest among 6 children of my parents. As the eldest among them, I could say that I am the most tired since we were young! I am the one who took good care of them every time my parents were away for work. I never experienced playing with other children at that time, because I needed to take care of my youngest sister and brother. Maybe that is also the reason why I am small – my height is only 4 feet and 11 inches. But, I love my brothers and sisters, and I am still proud of having them in my life.

The good thing was even though we were poor my father tried his best to send us to school. He was always telling us that education is the best thing that he can give us.

When I was 16 years old, I was in college taking up Bachelor of Science in Commerce in Tanauan Institute. I would say that even though I believed I was not pretty, there were many boys courting me. One of my suitors was working as a security guard in our school, but I didn’t like him – but he was the man that I married. You might be wondering how this happened – the reason was because he forced me to kiss him and at that time here in the Philippines the tradition and cultures were very old fashioned. If somebody kissed you, then that man needs to marry you… and that was what happened to me. They forced me to marry a man that I didn’t love, and because I was still very young at that time and afraid of my parents, I just did what they told me to do.

I was only in the first year of my college at that time, but I told my parents that even though I was already married, I wanted to continue my studies. Even when I was pregnant I still went to school. I have 4 kids – 3 daughters and one son by the time I finished my college. But before my graduation there were many struggles that had filled our lives. I found out that my husband had another woman in his life, and they already had 2 sons… so I made a huge decision and we separated.

I took all my kids with me. I raised my kids with the help of my parents, who took care of them while I was working as an Accounting Clerk in our municipal town hall. After 2 years of separation (I was only 23 years old at that time) I began living with another man and gained another 4 kids from him. Tragically, after living together for 6 years, he died.

It is really very hard to be a mother and father at the same time. My salary could not support my children’s needs so I decided to operate a small scrap business. And through this business, I met the third man of my life… and I had 2 kids with him – so all in all, I have 10 kids. 🙂

All my kids live with us because I always see to it that they will be always by my side. When my partner occasionally complained about the situation I told him that it is better to live alone rather than not have my kids with me. Unfortunately, he passed away as well after 7 years of living together.

So there I was back to being father and mother at the same time to my children. We really struggled during that time as all of them were studying, so even at night, I looked for something else that could allow us to earn more. I even washed the clothes of my neighbour so that my children could keep attending school. There were still other men courting me, but I focused completely on my 10 kids’ futures.

One day when I was in the office one of my office mates told me that maybe I could try looking on the internet for a foreign man to be with. At first I ignored him but when one of my colleagues posted my picture on a dating site, I was shocked when I received an email from a man in Oklahoma, United States, greeting me and asking for more information about me.

So I sent him an email stating that I didn’t know him, and so that was the start of our exchanging messages until we began chatting with video. I told my kids about him and they also talked to him. He was a very good man. He supported us like he was the father of my kids. He helped me with all my kids’ needs in school. He even sent me money for the process of my annulment as he really wanted to marry me. I thought this would be the reward for all my sacrifices – but he died from a heart attack. 🙁 All my kids cried and it was really painful for me because I know that he really loved me and I really loved him as well.

And I still love him right at this moment.

To make my story short. Now all my 8 children have finished their studies and they have their own families now. They don’t live as harmoniously as they could, but I know they will not suffer like I did. I mention 8 of them – if you’re wondering why only 8 – my youngest son and daughter did not finish their studies because they got married before their graduation. But even though they are undergraduates they have good jobs as well.

Right now I have 27 grand-kids. 🙂 And I can say I am very proud of having them because I know I raised them well, with the help of my parents and the man who loved me so much.

As of now, I am still working as a Call Center Representative in one of the prestigious BPO companies handling customer concerns and providing them with the right resolution and providing them with the satisfaction they seek. As a Customer Service Representative, you need to be attentive and assertive and always be polite to every client that needs our service. I provide them with the best of all the services that they need.

At my age now my children tell me that I need to stay at home and just relax, but I tell them no, as I am still strong and healthy. I can still work and this time it is for the sake of my grand-kids… and for myself. I am so happy right now that I have them in my life. God knows about all the sacrifices that I have made.

For a copy of Aqualina’s resume please click here.