DSWD: Repatriated OFWs from Middle East to receive full psycho-social support

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it is prioritizing psycho-social support for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) repatriated from the Middle East amid the ongoing tension there.

DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the agency is coordinating closely with government agencies such as the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and Department of Health (DOH) to ensure that affected OFWs and their families are given essential services and interventions.

The DSWD prioritizes psycho-social intervention for repatriated OFWs who experienced trauma during the conflict, such as those who experienced close missile strikes and explosions.

Dumlao said trained social workers are now conducting interviews and profiling procedures for OFWs at the airport immediately upon their arrival in the country.

“Actually... Sa airport pa lang kinakausap na sila ng ating mga social workers, kapag sinasalubong natin sila, isa-isa ‘yan na kinakausap kasi nag po-profiling tayo,” said Dumlao, the DSWD spokesperson.

(Actually, our social workers talk to them while they are still at the airport, when we welcome them. We talk to them one by one because we are conducting profiling.)

Psycho-social interventions begin with intake assessment and rapport-building, followed by further counseling or incident stress debriefing when social workers observe signs of trauma.

Dumlao said cases requiring deeper clinical intervention are referred to the DOH.

All information gathered from the OFWs are referred to the concerned DSWD field offices for further assessment and provision of appropriate interventions.

"Kapag malalim ‘yung trauma, we refer them to DOH, kasi sila naman ‘yung trained to provide further medical assistance kapag talagang matindi ‘yung kanila pong naranasan,” Dumlao said.

(If the trauma is severe, we refer them to the DOH, because they are the ones trained to provide further medical assistance if they underwent a really intense experience.)

Over the weekend, three batches of OFWs from the Middle East arrived in Manila as part of the government’s repatriation efforts for distressed OFWs.

Dumlao said the DSWD field offices were instructed to monitor the situation of the repatriated OFWs and their families so that social workers can conduct further assessment and recommend further interventions and assistance.

These interventions include the DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) that offers employment facilitation and micro-enterprise development.

The micro-enterprise development track offers grants or seed capital fund to OFWs so that they can start their own small business, while the employment facilitation track involves basic employment skills trainings and employment assistance to help them find a new job.

Dumlao added that the DSWD Field Office 1 in the Ilocos Region also extended support to the bereaved family of Filipina caregiver Mary Anne de Vera, who was killed during a missile attack on Tel Aviv in Israel.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian instructed the field office to provide financial aid and psycho-social support to the family while the agency is assessing other additional aid that can be given to the family.

Dumlao said the government’s comprehensive aid package includes burial support and additional social welfare services once de Vera’s remains are returned to the country upon the lifting of flight restrictions. — JMA, GMA Integrated News