The town of Mabini, in the Philippines, is filled with large new homes much more luxurious than standard Filipino homes. They are largely unoccupied, built by the 15% of the town's citizens who are OFWs -- Overseas Filipino Workers. Working mainly as maids, nurses or service workers, these Filipinos return money to the Philippines as remittances, which rose from $7.6 billion in 2003 to $17.3 billion in 2009. These payments now account for more than 10% of Phillipines' GDP and are the main factor driving the country's economic growth.
Toiling Far From Home for Philippine Dreams - NYTimes.com
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