Office manager by day and ballroom dance competitor by night

Office manager by day and ballroom dance competitor by night

Dubai. Overseas Filipino worker Kenneth Farley De Villa lives in a small room with big dreams for his family back home in the Philippines. This is his story of love, sacrifice and hope.

De Villa isn't your typical Dubai office manager. Sure, he handles the daily grind by day, but his evenings are a whirlwind of ballroom dance competitions, mascot gigs, and the constant thrum of ambition for his family in the Philippines.

De Villa's story is one of countless Filipino overseas workers who shoulder the weight of family expectation with unwavering determination. Living in a modest partition room in Deira, a far cry from his workplace in the glitzy Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), De Villa exemplifies resourcefulness.

Simple living

He said: “I pay Dh1,800 per month for a partition room with balcony in Al Rigga, Deira. It's a half room partition where I sleep on a loft bed and underneath I have a mini desk and a laptop for entertainment. It's practical to live this way. It is manageable, as the space fits very well for me since I am all by myself. I save a bigger chunk of my salary, and the owner even covers utilities such as