How Emilio Baja Gives Chances For OFW Families To Have A Happier Narrative

Here’s how Emilio Baja intends to make life better for OFW families

For many Filipino families, overseas work is not a dream—it’s a decision made out of love, necessity, and sacrifice. A parent leaves, a child stays, and the family learns to exist in fragments: birthdays celebrated on video calls, school milestones watched through screens, and bedtime stories told across time zones.

Behind every Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a family learning how to endure absence without falling apart. And behind many of those families are children growing up faster than expected, carrying both gratitude and longing in equal measure.

It is within this emotional landscape that youth advocate Emilio Baja has built his work, Full Phils—one that understands that migration does not end with the worker, but ripples through entire households.

Why Education Matters to Families Left Behind

Many OFWs, especially domestic workers in Hong Kong, left the Philippines before finishing college. For parents, this unfinished education is often an unspoken regret—one they carry while encouraging their children to study hard and dream big.

Education becomes symbolic. It is not just about a diploma, but about proving that sacrifice leads somewhere.

This is where Full Phils, the youth-led nonprofit founded by Emilio Baja in 2023, steps in. By providing access to accredited online college programs for OFWs, Full Phils helps parents reclaim dreams they once set aside—dreams their children have inherited.

“This award represents the strength of our OFWs—people who continue to push forward despite distance, sacrifice, and uncertainty,” Baja shared. “Full Phils exists because we believe education should never be out of reach.”

For families, that belief changes the story. It allows children to see their parents not just as providers, but as learners, role models, and people still growing.

Recognition That Reflects the OFW Family Story

In December 2025, Baja received the maiden Youth Advocate Award in the Media Advocate category at the Migration Advocacy and Media Awards of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). The recognition followed a competitive selection process with 95 entries from 17 countries, reviewed by migration and policy leaders.

While the award was given to Baja, its meaning extends to the families behind the advocacy—parents who left, children who waited, and households stitched together by resilience.

“Standing here today—as the youngest person in the room—I feel humbled,” Baja said in his acceptance speech. “To whom much is given, much is expected. There is still so much work to do alongside and for our OFWs.”

For parents watching from afar, moments like these affirm that their struggles are finally being seen at a national level.

Rebuilding Family Futures Through Learning

Through partnerships with AMA University, Philippine Women’s University, and the University of the Philippines Open University, Full Phils offers OFWs accredited online degree programs—supported by donors, governance partners, and a global volunteer network.

In just two years, more than 30 OFWs have enrolled, with two graduates to date.

For children left behind, this matters deeply. It reframes migration not as an endless cycle of absence, but as a chapter that leads to reintegration, stability, and presence.

“Every scholar reminds us why we do this work,” Baja said. “Their determination proves that reintegration is strongest when built on opportunity and education.”

When parents grow, families heal. When parents return not just with savings but with skills and confidence, children become more confident in chasing their dreams.

More about OFWs?

Transnational Parenting: A Reality of Many OFW Parents
Marcelito Pomoy on the OFW’s Sacrifice: “I salute all of you.”
Lian Paz Once Considered Working as an OFW