My journey to Germany is one of the best things that happened to me as a nurse. I have not only learned one of the most challenging languages, but also worked with the great team of Care With Care who played a big part in making my dream come true. I owe a lot of what I have now to Magsaysay and Care With Care. I fulfilled all the goals that I had set since day one of my journey: I am now a nurse in Germany, working in one of the biggest hospitals and enjoying every bit of my life.

I am a RN who never worked as a nurse in the Philippines for a few reasons: low salary, patient nurse ratio and unemployment rate of nurses. So I decided to make a career change and I worked as a call center agent as this job provides a better income than nursing in the Philippines. But at some point in life we nurses hear our calling... So I decided to work abroad and I found out about Care With Care. One of the main requirements was to pass the German language exam. I was able to complete the course in around 8 months including the exam and now I am a nurse in Germany, in Erfstadt! Let’s be real, learning a new language is difficult but if that is what it takes for you to have a greener pasture and to fulfil your dreams, then take it as a challenge and believe me it’s all worth it. P.S.: Travelling around the EU is one of the benefits, and who doesn't like travelling!

To seek for opportunities abroad was a pain because almost every country requires two years of nursing experience which we didn't have. One day my boyfriend saw a Care With Care ad for the Journey to Germany Program. It ticked a lot of checkboxes: no experience needed, no placement fee, the chance to work at the same employer. Luckily, we are both into learning languages and it was fun for us. A year after we started our journey, we finally took a flight and set foot as nurses in Germany. Working here has its perks: learning a foreign language, a new culture, earn more than what we could back home, travel around Europe, and 30 days of paid vacation leave. San ka pa? I wrote this text while being on a plane to the Philippines to spend my vacation. Thanks to Care With Care for helping us throughout the process and making our dream come true.

Years back I thought I would never have the opportunity to use my nurse license. For the past 10 years after passing NLE I worked as a checker in a department store, fast food chain and as a call center agent. But Care With Care suddenly provided a tremendous opportunity for inexperienced nurses like me. They helped me to enroll in a German class, to arrange documents, found the right employer for me. Now I am a licensed nurse in Germany and work in a senior care facility. Thanks Care With Care for being an instrument for achieving what I am and what I have today.

I must say that I already had trust issues when choosing the agency that would help me to put my dreams about working in Germany into reality. But then I heard about Magsaysay and Care With Care from my friends who are also working here in Germany and came with the same agency. The Care With Care team helped us at every step of the way: from paperwork to an early appointment at the embassy, and up until I finally started to work as a nurse in Germany. The whole process — learning the language, passing the exam and employer interview, etc. — was indeed difficult and stressful. But it was all worth it!