Michael Elep has worked arduously to bring his family to safety.
Back home in the Philippines, he was employed in a military factory before leaving for South Africa, where he got hired in the textile industry and learned the trade of industrial sewing machine mechanics. After spending eight years in Lesotho, he came back to Manilla to work at a water refilling station and completed a marine engineering degree. This, he hoped, would have guaranteed him a career at sea, but the chances of being selected turned out to be slim due to the very high number of applicants. Michael then trained to become a welder.
Always looking out for jobs and better living conditions to support his family, Michael also searched for opportunities abroad. In 2019, fortune smiled on him at last: thanks to his numerous qualifications, he was deemed admissible to a temporary foreign worker permit, which led him to his current position as an industrial sewing machine mechanic at Les Textiles Gauvin, in Saint-Pamphile, in a community who welcomed him with open arms.
Today, Michael dreams of being granted permanent residence in Canada. Determined, he is currently learning French, hoping that his wife and two kids will be allowed to join him here. Michael and his family have been separated by necessity for many years. Working with diligence and passion, he has carved himself a place in a country where they could all be reunited and safe. Canada is, in his opinion and indeed, a fair haven, where access to education and health services is a right for all strands of society, and most important – a safe place for his children’s future.
At 40, Michael is father to a ten year-old daughter, in fifth grade now, and to a four year-old son, in kindergarden. In the Philippines, they currently both attend private school. For it is this hope that helps them get by: education will give them wings, like their dad, thanks to whom their family may be able to leave its homeland, where they fear the impacts of poverty – famine and corruption.
Michael Elep thus left first as a pathfinder and discovered, in Saint-Pamphile, people who helped him get accustomed to his new reality and even became friends. When asked what he is passionate about, Michael answers that he really likes his job and would love to learn to play hockey. He isn’t afraid of snow, having experienced the winters of South Africa. His biggest challenge remains to learn French, to give him a better chance of being allowed to stay here and to reunite with his family once and for all. A noble hope. We sure wish him to succeed. Good luck Michael Elep.
