An Overseas Filipino is a person of Filipino origin who lives outside of the Philippines, the sacrifices overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) make just to provide a better life for their families earned them the title of the nation’s Bagong-Bayani (new heroes). It’s really very hard to be away from your loved ones. Being an OFW is not easy.
For many of our OFW’s, underemployment is part of the struggle. You might study for years and years to become a brilliant doctor or a tenured professor in the Philippines, but because opportunities to earn a respectable income in those professions aren’t as plentiful as you think, it’s not unheard of for these same individuals to work as caregivers, factory workers, or even nannies abroad.
In some cases, jobs for overseas workers are downright dangerous, particularly for those working on oil rigs or with machines that could grind them into powder if they aren’t careful.
According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), there were a total of 1,844,406 OFWs in 2015 – 1,437,875 land-based and 406,531 sea-based.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in 2012 said that the Philippines cannot do without the cash remittances from OFWs. This is true as cash sent to the country by OFWs, according to the World Bank, is a “key factor” for the resilience of the Philippines. It has been able to withstand recession amid the economic crises of the previous years.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), OFW cash remittances from January to August in 2015 reached $16.21 billion (P764 billion).
In 2014, personal remittances from OFWs hit almost $24 billion (P1.178 trillion). The major sources were the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada, Japan, and Hong Kong. (READ: Which countries sent the most OFW remittances?
The results of the PSA survey found that 64% of OFWs send money through banks, while the rest prefer their own agencies, door-to-door delivery, or friends or co-workers vacationing in the Philippines.
The same survey said the average cash remittance per OFW is P65,000 ($1,378). Two in every 5 OFWs are still able to have savings beyond the money they send back to their families.
Becoming an OFW is such a big sacrifice emotionally and financially. If you are an OFW and want to go home and start a business, here is a story of an OFW Success in business after working Abroad, you might get inspiration and motivation through this video.
Former OFW Susan Vergara tell’s us her story being an OFW is not easy, most of all, not the solution to get out of poverty. Instead, she found her success back home by starting her own business.
Video Own and Published by PinoyHowTo
Recipes by Lucelle 