Andrea Baggayan (fifth left), the first beneficiary of 'Send Someone Home' programme, receives her ticket and pocket money at POLO-OWWA office. Also seen are Philippine Labour Attache David Des Dicang (fourth left), UFOQ Chairman Ressie S Fos (second righ
Three Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) who sought amnesty have already flown home for free, thanks to “Send Someone Home” initiative launched by the United Filipino Organisations in Qatar (UFOQ) — the umbrella body of over 100 Filipino groups here.
Launched last month, the project is aimed at providing assistance in expediting the repatriation of distressed OFWs including amnesty seekers by providing them plane tickets. There are around a hundred distressed OFWs under the care of Philippine Overseas Labour Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA), most of whom are runaway household service workers.
“ Three OFWs have benefited so far, though the programme can still benefit around 25 more beneficiaries. We are just waiting for anyone who is ready to fly, as per POLO-OWWA's endorsement,” UFOQ Chairman Ressie Fos told The Peninsula yesterday.
Fos expressed optimism of the success of this community initiative as many Filipino organisations, private entities and individuals have joined hands to raise funds in order to help distressed OFWs fly back home to finally reunite with their families.
“So far, the project gets ample support from individuals, organisations, entrepreneurs, and even other nationalities; while other organisations do similar outreach programs in parallel. I am hopeful that with the program and other similar programs, we can send home 90 percent of the wards at POLO,” he said.
Apart from the three beneficiaries, there had been a number of distressed OFWs who were able to fly back home with tickets donated directly by organisations through their own projects.
Send someone Home is a year-long priority project of the current UFOQ board after a dialogue with the POLO-OWWA which discussed the main challenges they face and how UFOQ could help.
“We will sustain the programme for a year and more if possible under the next UFOQ leadership. We are contemplating on the possibility of tapping Qatar Charity, such that it may allow us to put donation boxes in public places such as malls, or give us the required permit for a public donation drive,” said Fos on their future plans.
The initiative goes beyond providing tickets to distressed OFWs qualified to avail of the programme, he said.
“UFOQ is not only looking at the monetary aspect of this programme, but also at documenting the beneficiaries through POLO such as their profile and post-repatriation follow-up report,” he added.
