I Turned My Pain Into Purpose and Found a New Beginning Through Learning By Rolyn P. Muyco
I first heard about VODW from a friend, and what I heard stopped me in my tracks. Here was an organisation helping migrant domestic workers, people like me, who had been abused by their work and by their employer. That single piece of information was enough to make me decide, without hesitation, that this was a community I needed to be part of. I joined excited, happy, and curious, drawn in not only by the promise of classes but by the chance to be somewhere that understood what I had been through.
Over one to two years across ESOL, IT, Mediacom, Body Mind and Wellness, and Financial Literacy, I discovered abilities I never knew I had, especially in IT, a subject I admit I was not good at before. Now I can tell that I can. That shift, from doubt to certainty, captures something much bigger than a technical skill. During my sessions I felt reconnected with myself, watched my stress ease, built confidence, grew more resilient, and felt genuinely healed, along with a sense of belonging I may not have felt anywhere else in a long time.
One memory in particular has stayed close to my heart, moments in class that touched my emotions and reminded me that no matter what I had been through, there was always light and good things ahead. Before VODW, I carried a great deal of self doubt and insecurity, by my own honest account. Now, maybe half of that self doubt is gone, and I find myself looking forward instead of only looking back.
Graduation day gave me a feeling I can only describe as accomplishing something I could not have imagined for myself. My gratitude toward VODW is deeply personal. I call it a blessing, something that helped me get through and let go of my past, and I extend that same gratitude to every teacher who influenced who I am today.
My hope for the future carries the quiet determination of someone who has already survived a great deal, that whatever domestic workers are fighting for now will come to a better end. That hope sits at the heart of VODW's ongoing campaigns, the push for the right to change employer without restriction so no worker is trapped in an abusive situation, the right to renew the ODW visa, the right to settlement, and the right to British citizenship, protections that could have changed everything for me in my earlier circumstances.
To every newcomer walking through VODW's doors for the first time, my advice is simple and warm, keep going, and enjoy learning. It is advice earned through real experience, and it carries the weight of someone who has walked from harm toward healing, one class at a time.
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