05 December 2013 - As part of its ongoing staff development, members and dependents of the Philippine Embassy in Singapore proudly graduated along with 320 other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Singapore during the sixth commencement exercises of the Alalay sa Kaunlaran Inc. (ASKI) Global Foundation Ltd at the CREATE Amphitheatre at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on December 01.
The 15 include 12 staff members of the Philippine Embassy and three dependents, joined the 320 graduates from the various courses offered by ASKI Global Ltd., a Philippine-based non-stock, non-profit organization committed to the promotion and development of micro and small-to-medium enterprises and the delivery of social services. In Singapore, ASKI is one of many groups that conducts financial education and literacy training as well as business development for OFWs.
This project was initiated by ASKI in tandem with NUS School for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy. To date, given the viability and usefulness of the program, private corporations such as CITIBANK and Metrobank Foundation have come on board. Lately, the Economic Development Board of Singapore also provided them with some assistance to be able to extend this to a wider clientele.
During the commencement exercises, one of the Embassy’s staff members, Ms. Kathrina Jeane S. Velasco delivered a speech on behalf of her fellow graduates. In her remarks, Ms. Velasco stated that the program that they got from ASKI “opened new windows and opportunities for us to charge for a better future.” She also further stated that she and her colleagues from the Philippine Embassy found inspiration with the Filipino household staff who were also enrolled in the same program as them and having succeeded despite the many challenges that they face.
The Embassy has lent its support to ASKI from its first program six years ago and continued to hold dialogues on the needs of OFWs. The Ambassador had always been requested to grace their graduations as guest speaker/GOH together with other VIPs from Manila and Singapore from their partners and sponsors. The program indeed empowers and instills our OFW-students with more focused and deliverable programs. END
