Joel grew up in Iloilo, where mornings always smelled of freshly baked pan de sal from the neighborhood bakery. As a boy, he would run errands for the local baker in exchange for warm bread, and over time, he became fascinated with the process mixing flour, kneading dough, and waiting for bread to rise. By his teenage years, he was already working part-time in that same bakery, learning the craft that would later define his life.
Though Joel loved baking, the income he earned in the Philippines was barely enough to sustain his growing family. He and his wife had two children, and expenses kept piling up. When a recruiter visited their town offering jobs for bakers in Kuwait, Joel hesitated at first. Leaving his family behind was a painful thought. But when his eldest asked, Papa, makakapag-college ba ako? (Papa, will I be able to go to college?) Joel knew what he had to do.
In Kuwait, Joel was assigned to a bakery that supplied bread and pastries to hotels and restaurants. The kitchen was more modern and demanding that the small panaderia he had known back home. Machines churned out dough in bulk, and ovens the size of small rooms baked hundreds of loaves at once. Joel’s responsibilities included preparing dough, shaping bread, decorating pastries, and ensuring that orders were completed on time.
The schedule was grueling. He often started work before dawn and finished late in the evening. His hands became calloused from kneading dough, and his back ached from long hours of standing. The hot ovens made the workplace sweltering, and sometimes he would sweat so much that he could feel his clothes sticking to his skin. Yet despite the exhaustion, Joel found joy in watching simple ingredients transform into golden bread that people enjoyed daily.
Language barriers and cultural differences added to the challenge. At first, Joel struggled to understand instructions from his Arab supervisor, and often relied on gestures or the help of fellow Filipino workers. Over time, he picked up basic Arabic words, enough to communicate in the kitchen. The camaraderie with his fellow OFWs kept him going they shared food, stories, and laughter during breaks, reminding each other of home.
One of Joel’s proudest achievements was his employer entrusted him to design new bread varieties for Filipino customers. He recreated favorites like Spanish bread, ensaymada, and pan de coco. To his surprise, even local customers enjoyed them. Soon, his creation became regular items in the bakery, and his employer praised his creativity. That recognition gave Joel not just pride but also a sense of belonging in a foreign land.
The money he sent home built more than just financial stability. His remittances helped send his eldest to college, paid for household improvements, and supported his parent’s medical needs. On his first vacation back home. Joel was welcomed with hugs and tears. His children proudly showed him their school achievements, and his wife whispered, Joel, every loaf you baked abroad has fed more than us it has fed our dreams.
Joel’s journey as a baker abroad is not just about flour, yeast, and ovens. It is about rising from hardship like dough in the heat, about patience in waiting for sacrifices to bear fruit, and about the sweetness of knowing that every loaf he baked carried love across oceans.
