POEA, group honor OFWs, promote peace through art

People passing by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) building on Ortigas Avenue in Mandaluyong will notice a mural that is decidedly pro-overseas Filipino worker (OFW).

The mural, which used “colors of peace,” can be seen on the 120-meter long fence of the POEA building and is a project of the Teach Peace Build Peace Movement (TPBPM).

“Art, for us, is a language that transcends cultural differences,” said Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman, TPBPM founder and executive director. “We use this as a way to get our message across and this time, we are using it to honor the OFWs.”
Usman said the mural has a theme “Mga OFWs bilang mga Bayani ng Bayan” and highlights the connection of peace to the POEA’s advocacy in protecting OFWs from illegal recruiters or human traffickers.

“Promoting peace has never been this fun,” she said.

For her part, POEA Deputy Administrator Amuerfina R. Reyes said the mural painting “is a good instrument in getting across one’s message and illustrating positive Filipino values.”

“This is also a creative way of informing our countrymen of the legal process if they plan on working abroad or obtaining overseas employment,” she added.

TPBPM is an independent and non-profit organization that aims to make every Filipino child and youth a peace-builder. Its creative approach involves art as a means for cultural exchange where artists, volunteers, government and civil sector representatives, and private organizations come together to paint the country’s walls with colors of peace.

For the project, it has partnered with the POEA with the support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority

On June 28, the TPBPM will once again promote artistic vandalism by holding the first leg of the peace mural painting along the 51st Engineering Brigade wall in C5.  —KBK, GMA News