Inihayag ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) na maglulunsad ang ahensiya ng programa para sa proteksyon at kapakanan ng mga anak ng mga overseas Filipino worker (OFW).
Sa isang pahayag, sinabi ng OWWA na inaprubahan ng OWWA Board of Trustees nitong July 15 ang Board Resolution Number 7 para sa pagbuo ng OFW Children’s Circle (OCC).
Ang OWWA Board of Trustees ay pinangungunahan ni Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, kasama si Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople.
Ayon kay Ople, binuo ang programa alinsunod sa pahayag ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., na nais niyang mapabuti ang kabuhayan ng mga OFW at kanilang pamilya sa ilalim ng kaniyang administrasyon.
Sinabi ng OWWA, na tutulong ang OCC sa mga anak ng OFWs, "to showcase their creative skills and talents, improve their social skills, harness their coping mechanisms, and foster their awareness in youth-centered and civic advocacies such as environment and climate change, values reorientation, digital literacy, and anti-drugs and substance abuse."
Ayon pa sa OWWA, "The OCC aims to help OFW children to achieve their full potential in community- and nation-building. It will also address the societal impact of labor migration, such as separation from an OFW-parent, as well as negative effects on their well-being and mental health.”
Naglaan ang OWWA Board of Trustees ng paunang P15 milyon pondo para maipatupad ang programa. Una itong ipatutupad sa regional welfare offices sa National Capital Region, Ilocos Region, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, at Davao Region.
Ayon sa OWWA, pagkatapos nito ay ipatutupad na ang programa sa lahat ng kanilang regional welfare offices. —FRJ, GMA News
