"These are the Ateneans I am most proud of OFWs who completed Ateneo's Executive Education program, which involve modules on leadership, social entrepreneurship and financial literacy,” says San Andres. “Their experience and self-sacrifice in working abroad, coupled with the business plans they now have and are capable of formulating and which will be sources of decent income and jobs, are lights of hope for our people in the Philippines.”
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ALSE 74 |
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Batch 73 |
The challenge of reintegration back home
The ALSE OF-LIFE course is designed to provide migrant workers with the tools to prepare themselves for reintegration. The decision of if and when to return back home for good is a very difficult one for migrant workers because of the potential income uncertainty and the impact it would have on their families. Many feel that they have not yet saved enough money while working overseas, and fear that they will not be able to support their families in the same way should they go back prematurely.
Migrant workers want to be sure that the money they earn in the Philippines should be able to compen-sate for the income that they are earning in Hong Kong so they can maintain the lifestyle they have now. Starting a business back home is one way to ensure they have something to return to, a livelihood that can potentially provide for their families and allow them to save.
To a certain extent, the ALSE course responded to this dilemma. To complete the course, the partici-pants have to present a social entrepreneurship business plan, which will be evaluated according to its viability, social impact and other criteria.
Lawrence Monsalud, class president of ALSE 74, in his testimony at the ceremony, said: “All of us here today have a drive of achieving our goals. The ALSE has given us the tools to move forward with our goals,” he says. “Working here in Hong Kong, especially with my fellow classmates who been here for many years, we have one goal: to be able to provide the needs of our families in the Philippines and we will do whatever it takes to achieve that despite the sacrifices we make especially in these troubled times in Hong Kong. We have given up a lot of things just for our families’ future; we miss their birthdays, graduations, spending moments with them which money can’t buy. What ALSE did was give us hope to dream and the knowledge to structure that dream into reality to help us with our integration back to the Philippines and continue to pursue our goals for our families’ future.”
According to Mark Joseph Pascual, one of the three male participants and class president of ALSE 73: “The shared stories of my batchmates touched my heart. All those sleepless nights, dramas, misunder-standing, and many more while working on the business plans paid off.”
Jennifer Ilarde, one of the participants who gave her testimony during the ceremony, summed up the empowering experience of her fellow graduates in attending the course: “Being a domestic helper here in Hong Kong, our common reason why we are here is to support our family financially and to give them a better future. But most of us forget or own dreams and goals,” she says. “I am thankful and grateful that there is an ALSE program for domestic helpers here in Hong Kong. It has given us an opportunity to learn and to grow as individuals. Because of this program, my principles and views in life were totally changed for the better, especially in handling finances. It also enhanced my personality development in dealing with people. And I’ve come to realize that we are not just domestic helpers .We are much more, and we can be more than what we think what we are f we only allow our minds to be filled up with new knowledge and skills that will help us to develop and to improve ourselves.”
POLO HK OIC Villafuerte emphasised the importance of continuing education for migrant workers and urged graduates to continue to learn even after graduation.
This was echoed by Consul Sarte who reminded the graduates that knowledge is power. He commended non-government organizations’ contributions in delivering various courses to prepare migrant workers for their return and reintegration to the Philippines. He said the consulate has only limited staff serving 237,000 Filipino nationals (217,000 domestic workers) and it could not cater to everyone’s needs with-out the contribution and cooperation of various organizations within the community.
Up to the last minute, there was uncertainty whether the graduation ceremony would push through due to the protests in Hong Kong. A total shutdown of the MTR for one and half days and the expected wors-ening of the situation that day made travel to the venue problematic for graduates and guests. However, in true Philippine spirit of pagtutulungan (helping each other), the organisers were able to arrange for transportation to the venue for the graduates and guests.
About WIMLER Foundation Hong Kong
WIMLER Foundation Hong Kong Ltd. was officially registered in 2011 as a non-profit and charitable organization whose primary objective is to support the capacity building and empowerment of migrant communities regardless of nationalities and to promote cultural diversity in Hong Kong based on mutual respect, solidarity, and shared empowerment among peoples. In 2018, WIMLER HK was awarded the Banaag Award of the Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas. The awards honor distinguished individuals and foreign-based organisations dedicated to advancing the in-terests of Filipino communities around the world.
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