Newfoundland Filipina mom’s 11-year immigration journey finally ends in family reunion

Screengrab from CBC.ca video

In search of greener pastures, Canadian immigrant and Filipina mom Mylene Badiola was resilient enough to embark on an 11-year battle to be with all her children—and successfully she did.

A determined mom armed with dreams of a better life for her kids, Badiola left her kids in the Philippines in 2012. Landing a job at Tim Hortons and being the hard worker Pinoy that she is, she quickly became a rising employee.

While in Canada, she found a new love and bore two more kids. For a long time, her Canadian-born kids hadn’t met their Filipino half-siblings until recently.

In February 2022, after a tedious immigration process, Badiola finally welcomed her youngest son Jade in Canada, thanks in part to the support of the Tim Hortons owner whom she worked for and a lawyer friend who helped her make this possible.

Photo from CBC/Facebook

In the following year, she continued with the process of bringing over her two other children, Kate and Jelo. “Eleven years of waiting for my children,” Badiola shared. “It was like a roller coaster.”

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A hug worth more than a decade

Then last month, all her efforts finally paid off. She was finally able to do what she had been waiting for since 2012—to physically hug her two older children. It was always a series of family video calls for them on every special occasion.

Badiola, her new beau, and her kids (Kate, 22, Jelo, 20, Jade,15, Mikaal, 8, and Maya Druken, 6) all living together in Shea Heights. All three boys in one room, two girls in the other. “It’s chaotic and it’s fun,” Badiola says in an interview.

The Badiola-Druken family finally shared a Canadian Thanksgiving celebration together just this weekend. While her older kids had recently arrived, all of them, including the youngest, have permanent residency.

Canadian immigrant or not, if there’s a will (and some helpful friends), there’s a way to make anything happen.