OWWA approves the formation of OFW children’s welfare program (OFW Children’s Circle)

The OWWA Board of Trustees chaired by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido “Benny” Laguesma with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople in attendance via Zoom, approved Board Resolution No. 7 on the Formation of an OFW Children’s Circle, last Friday, July 15, 2022.

Brought on by the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to provide programs for the welfare and protection of families, particularly overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) children left behind, the OFW Children’s Circle or OCC shall be OWWA’s new flagship program for the protection and welfare of OFW children.

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. 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.

Specifically, the OCC shall serve as a venue for the following:

1. To showcase the creative skills and talents of OFW children;
2. To improve socialization skills and harness coping mechanisms of OFW children;
3. To foster awareness in youth-centered and civic advocacies such as environment and climate change, values reorientation, digital literacy and anti-drugs and substance abuse;
4. To build camaraderie among OFW children, develop potential leaders among them and encourage the formation of OFW Children’s Circles;
5. To encourage OFW children’s participation in policy and program development.

The OCC shall be initially implemented by OWWA Regional Welfare Offices in the National Capital Region, Region I (Ilocos), Region IV-A (Southern Tagalog), Region VII (Central Visayas) and Region XI (Southern Mindanao). Thereafter, the Program will be fully implemented by all OWWA Regional Welfare Offices.

For its initial implementation, the sum of P15,000,000.00 was allocated by the OWWA Board of Trustees to cover operational and administrative expenses of the program.

The OWWA Board of Trustees is the highest policy-making body of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.