OWWA to launch program for OFWs' children

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Tuesday said its board of trustees has approved a resolution on the creation of a flagship program for the protection and welfare of the overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) children.

In a statement, OWWA said its Board Resolution Number 7 on the formation of an OFW Children’s Circle (OCC) was approved on July 15 by OWWA Board of Trustees chaired by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, with Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople.

This came after Ople said that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wants to make the lives of OFWs and their families better under his administration.

OWWA said the OCC will help children of OFWs 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.

The program will also help the children build camaraderie, develop potential leaders among them, and encourage their participation in policy and program development.

“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,” OWWA said.

“OCC programs and activities aim to help children cope with the negative effects and social costs of migration, not to mention the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global emergencies,” it added.

At least P15 million was allocated by the OWWA Board of Trustees for the initial implementation of the program, which will cover its operational and administrative expenses.

OWWA said that the OCC will be initially implemented by its regional welfare offices in the National Capital Region, Ilocos Region, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and Davao Region.

All OWWA regional welfare offices will fully implement the program thereafter. —Giselle Ombay/KBK, GMA News