At first glance, Myrna Padilla, with her easygoing attitude and bright personality, wouldn’t strike you as a person who has been through a lot of hardships. Myrna exudes an aura of brilliance and learnedness only years of experience and wisdom can bring.
Myrna Padilla is the founder of MYND Consulting, a Business Process Outsourcing company based in Davao that provides virtual staff to various clients, rooted in innovation and technology. However, before establishing the company, Myrna was an OFW distraught by the homesickness she felt missing her family and the growth of her children while she raises someone else’s child overseas.
“It was a very difficult time, especially for a mother like me, but I had to make a living in order to provide for my children,” she said.
Little did she know that her breakthrough would come from the child she helped rear while abroad. Her ward would teach her how to use a Windows computer; learn basic computing skills and most importantly, to search for information and to gain knowledge.
“I remember when my old employer would ask me to research on what is available out there to help her soothe her aching muscles,” Myrna recalled. “I was very proud every time I tell her what I found on the Internet, and what I found worked.”
Myrna Padilla spent over two decades as a domestic worker abroad. In 2000, she founded the Mindanao Hong Kong Worker’s Federation (MINFED) to serve as an advocate for the OFW in Hong Kong. Myrna developed programs and processes, including computer literacy, specifically designed to confront issues associated with Materialism, Dependency and the Fatalism that often follows from the lost hopes created by the OFW’s economic situation and worsened by the separation from family and loved ones.
Returning to the Philippines, Myrna had one goal in mind: help grow the talent and skills of her country men while taking care of OFWs abroad as well. “Now that I know about Microsoft and technology, I want to help give back to my fellow countrymen, especially the Filipino overseas workers. I had no one to help me then, but with OFW Watch, they can find the assistance, online. My Mynd Consulting company creates job opportunities to while developing mobile applications.“
Perhaps one of her most important breakthroughs is the development of OFW Watch, a community service initiative of Mynd Dynamic Team, Inc. It’s a web-based platform that connects registered OFWs from around the world, with applications available on Windows, iOS, and Android. The platform is used by migrant workers to gain support from fellow OFWs, ask questions about living in different parts of the globe, and report abuse and maltreatment from employers. Through this platform, Myrna has formed a peer community that sits solely in the digital space.
By leveraging technology, Myrna serves as both game-changer and inspiration for anyone who wishes to rise up from trials and change not only their lives, but the lives of others as well.