The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in cooperation with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Social Security System (SSS) and Pag Ibig Fund at the Kuwait Disabled Club in Hawally held outreach programs last week from nine in the morning till three in the afternoon. The program saw participation of around four hundred Overseas Filipinos Workers in Kuwait (OFWs).
“The outreach program allows us to provide services for OFWs in Kuwait less the hassles of queuing in line at the POLO offices should they want to process their Balik Manggawa (Return Worker) applications, verifications of their contracts, change of employers’ status. They may also check the status on their contributions to SSS, Pag Ibig Fund, reintegration programs and rebates in OWWA”, stated Atty. Llewelyn Perez, Acting Assistant Labor Attaché. Perez added that the outreach programs will continue over the coming months and updates on the locations of where the programs will be held would be publicized.
Among those present to provide assistance were fifteen officers from different departments and institutions. Welfare Officers Eduardo Bellido and Genevieve Ardiente were on hand to provide counsel and assistance to enquiries. “These projects are beneficial for us OFWs, most especially for those who work and could not skip the operational hours to process their documents, while for some Fridays are the only days available. It gave me the opportunity to ask further about other concerns such as my contributions to SSS and OWWA. We thank them for launching these programs” commented Lydia Santos, an OFW working for sales company.
Perez also announced that the outreach program will again take place in the same venue (Kuwait Disabled Cub in Hawally) on the 27 September from 9 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon, the program will be in conjunction with “Piyestang OFW sa Kuwait”. The event will include cultural presentations, competitions, food and services and more. All OFWs are encouraged to attend the event.
– Ricky Laxa, Staff Writer