Journalist Ana Santos:  Tensions for women who leave Philippines to work overseas to support families – Oct. 29

A public health correspondent, Santos is a reporting fellow with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.  She speaks at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in McEwen Hall, room 011.

Journalist Ana P. Santos visits Elon University this week to share her stories about the harsh choices that Filipino workers confront as they leave their families to earn money in unskilled jobs around the world. 

She will present her talk, titled “Who Takes Care of Nanny’s Children,” at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in McEwen Hall, room 011.  The talk is free and open to the public. McEwen Hall is the home of Elon’s School of Communications. 

Santos’ talk explores cases in which a mother must leave her own children behind, sometimes for years, to earn money as a nanny caring for the children of a wealthier family in another country. In one example, she details the family conflicts for a mother who worked as a nanny for seven years in Saudi Arabia. An estimated 1.2 million Filipino overseas workers hold jobs in Saudi Arabia.

Santos, a freelance reporter, was recently named Persephone Miel Fellow by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-profit organization that seeks to sponsor international reporting on important social issues. The fellowship provides continued financial support for her reporting. She will visit Elon during her short stay in the United States to confer with Pulitzer Center editors. 

The School of Communications holds a collegiate affiliation with the Pulitzer Center that provides visits by promising journalists such as Santos. In addition to her speech, she will speak in several class sessions across campus and meet informally with groups of students, including those with student-media organizations.