24 November 2016 - The Permanent Mission of the Philippines, Philippine Consulate General, and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) Geneva concluded its 4th quarter Financial Education and Entrepreneurial Workshop for overseas Filipinos in Geneva with the graduation of twenty-four (24) participants on November 12.
In her message, Ambassador Cecilia B. Rebong, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, commended the participants, for successfully completing the course and for making the sacrifice of working thousands of miles away from loved ones to provide them with financial security.
"Sound financial planning must be put in place so that the family can achieve financial security within a definite period. This will enable the overseas Filipino to rejoin his/her family left behind in the Philippines", the Ambassador said. In addition, the Ambassador also highlighted that “Maintaining an open communication with our loved ones back home is very important.”
Ambassador Rebong noted that the Financial Education workshops will continue in 2017 and urged the graduates to spread the word within the Filipino community.
Ms. Maricel Edioma, one of the graduates, highlighted the importance of communication with families in managing finances. "As OFWs, we realized that we need to teach them to be prudent in their expenses. Working in Geneva is not for life, and so we have to prepare properly for our future", Ms. Edioma said.
Another batch representative, Ms. Regina dela Cruz, expressed optimism that with her new learning, there will come a time that she can go back home for good, having achieved financial security. "It will be the ultimate dream for us to say that 'Maybe in two years time, we can go home as we have saved enough to start our own business in the Philippines," she said.
Ms. Ana Dasal, another participant/graduate, noted the feeling of guilt that overseas Filipinos experience when they choose to work overseas. She shared that part of her learning is the need to be disciplined about her expenditures. "I learned that it is wrong to give everything to our relatives to assuage our feelings of guilt, and so we need to be firm in handling our financial decisions," she remarked.
Ambassador Rebong vowed to continue the program in Switzerland and to advocate its replication in other Foreign Service Posts.
Conducted on a quarterly basis, the program is a twelve-hour, four-weekend course which aims to foster a culture of savings and planning for the future and to develop entrepreneurial skills and wise investment practices among overseas Filipinos, launched by the mission in November 2014.
The program is part of the Mission’s efforts toward women empowerment, taking into account that women compose the demographic majority of overseas Filipinos in the cantons of Geneva and Vaud. Since its inception, a total of 322 overseas Filipinos have benefitted from the course. END
