19 August 2014 – The Philippine Consulate General in Agana, in cooperation with the Guam Filipino Artists (GFA), commenced its Gender and Development (GAD) workshop series on Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship. The workshop featured an overview on the fundamentals of personal financial management and hands-on training on quilt-making. The activity was held on August 9 and 16 at the Agriculture and Life Sciences Building of the University of Guam.

The activity is in line with the Consulate General’s implementation of its 2014 Gender and Development program under R.A. 9710 (The Magna Carta for Women). The first module of the workshop on Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship featured Consul Mark Francis C. Hamoy as the resource person. Consul Hamoy gave workshop participants an overview of basic personal financial management and how to better understand and manage income and spending. The lecture empowered participants with the necessary knowledge and confidence to set and achieve their financial security goals.

The participants found the lecture useful and interesting. It also increased their confidence in managing their money and helped them identify the changes that could help them scale up their savings and investment accounts.

The second module was the hands-on training on quilt-making to teach a livelihood skill that can give participants in the workshop a head start on how to turn quilt-making into business. The quilt-making training was conducted by Mrs. Mila Moguel, Professor Emerita at the University of Guam and an active member of the Guam Filipino Artists.

Each participant learned the fundamentals of choosing a pattern for quilt, as well as how to work with color and texture in order to create their own unique designs. According to Prof. Moguel, each baby quilt could be sold for US$100.00 to 200.00, for a profit of US$70.00 to 170.00 per quilt based on a US$30.00 cost of materials and labor.

The workshop was attended by staff members of the Consulate General together with their dependents, as well as some of the fine arts students of the University of Guam.

The lecture and workshop series will continue to the last quarter of this year and will cover modules on budgeting, saving and investment for the Financial Literacy component, and wall décor using recycled materials for the livelihood and entrepreneurship component. END