“BDO has provided us with assistance especially through Kabayan Savings. My mom encouraged me and my younger sibling to open our own account then. It was really a big help because by the time our mother retired from her work abroad, we had enough savings in our account, thanks to BDO,” said Nizma Hawari, the daughter of land-based national winner Amir Hawari from Zamboanga (Region 9).
Amir Hawari’s career overseas spanned over four decades as a purchasing officer at the Saudi Aramco and as stock analyst for inventory at the Qatar Petroleum. A cancer survivor, Hawari said their children’s education was the driving force behind his and his wife Armina’s sacrifices as OFWs. Armina worked as a dialysis nurse at the Hamad Medical Corp. in Qatar.
Because of their hard work, the Hawari family was able to establish numerous business ventures in the Philippines, which are all managed by their six children who are also all college degree holders.
Amir is also one of the founders and served as a chairman of the Asian Integrated School, the first Filipino-Muslim school established in Doha, Qatar.