Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
ILO Financial Education Campaign
for ASEAN Migrant Workers
Aileen Constantino- Penas Deputy Executive Director
Atikha Overseas Workers and Communities Initiative, Inc.
Crown Plaza Hotel Manila, November 14, 2014
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Established in 1996
Organized as a community-based NGO
provides economic and psychosocial services
for the OFWs, their families and communities
in partnership with multi-stakeholders
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
ILO – Atikha Engagement
International Labor Organization (ILO) ASEAN
Triangle Project commissioned Atikha to:
• Study of the spending, saving and investing behavior of ASEAN
Migrant in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia
• Development of Gender Sensitive Modules and Learning Materials
on Financial Education for ASEAN migrants
• Validation Workshop with leaders of ASEAN migrants, NGOs
providing services to ASEAN migrants (domestic workers) and
labor attache of Embassy of Indonesia
• Conduct of training of trainers on financial education course
and mentoring of the ASEAN migrant leaders in Singapore
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Financial Education Course
OBJECTIVES
• Sensitize the migrants on the positive and negative effect of
migration on migrants, their families and their communities
• Be aware of financial planning, saving, investing and borrowing to
ensure that migration will contribute to the long-term development
• Identify and address migrant and family issues and concerns to
enable them to minimize the social cost of migration and achieve
their financial and family goals for migration.
• Conduct financial education course and peer counseling for
migrants from Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar.
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Financial Education Course
CONTENT
• Module 1: Positive and Negative Impact of Migration
• Module 2: Achieving Goal for Migration
• Module 3: Family Income Management
• Module 4: Saving and Investing
• Module 5: Protecting Ourselves
• Module 6: Borrowing and Getting Out of Debt
• Module 7: Addressing Family Issues
• Module 8: Coming Home: Return and Reintegration
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Training of Trainers for ASEAN Migrant Workers
Four consecutive Sundays: March 16, 23, 30; April 6
Catholic Archdiocesan Education Center, No. 2 Highland Road
32 participants from ACMI, FAST, HOME and Indonesian Embassy
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
TOOLS DEVELOPED
Financial
Education Course for
ASEAN Migrant Workers
In Trainer’s Guide, gender-related tips are highlighted in purple
Trainer’s Guide Financial Planner
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Gender- Sensitive Financial Education Course
Provides strategies in minimizing the negative and
maximizing the positive impact for the development of
the migrants, their families and communities
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Conveys that management of finances by both migrants
and their families left behind in countries of origin should
be a shared responsibility of men and women
Gender- Sensitive Financial Education Course
Budgeting and keeping track of money
should not be the sole responsibility of the
women or men migrants. This should be a
shared responsibility of the whole family
including the children and other family
members who are dependent on the
income of the migrants to ensure that
everybody is aware of their task in
minimizing the expenses and contributing
to the savings of the family.
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Encourages that in setting goals, saving and making
good investments, the whole family including the
children and extended family should be involved
Gender- Sensitive Financial Education Course
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Provides strategies in handling family issues and
concerns such as problem of dependency and addresses
the attitude of self sacrifice of migrant women
Gender- Sensitive Financial Education Course
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Methodologies include not only lectures and
discussion but also games, hands-on workshops, role
playing and peer counseling. There are also
assignments that require family consultations
Gender- Sensitive Financial Education Course
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Course Run by ACMI
July 13, 27; August 10, 24;
September 14
4 hour- activity per day
19 graduates
August 26- December 17
Twice a month
3 hour- activity per day
19 participants
Course Run by HOME
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Pinoy Worldwide Initiative for Investment Savings and Entrepreneurship
Pinoy WISE Financial Education Course
Pinoy WISE Financial education
Investment and Business Opportunity Forum
Pinoy WISE Overseas Filipinos Worldwide Marketplace Events
Reintegration Planning and Counselling
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Mainstreaming Gender Sensitive Program for
Migrants and Families: Atikha Experience
• Developing program for local government
• School- Based Program for Children of Migrants
• Integrating Financial Education as a Program of
Migrant and Family Organization and NGOs
• Mainstreaming program in partnership with
cooperatives and corporations and other private
sectors
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Challenges in Implementation
Reaching the millions of migrants
• Availability of migrants who are majority household service workers
• Apathy and denial of migrant workers
Building capacities of trainers
• Limited face to face monitoring and effectivity of online mentoring
• Engagement and commitment of domestic workers and professional
workers
Linking with other social and economic services
• Establishment of enterprises for small savers such as domestic workers
• Forging of multi-stakeholder partnerships with government, privates
sector and migrant organizations
Reuniting Families, Rebuilding Communities, Recreating Economic Opportunities in the Philippines.
Recommendation for Future Actions
• ASEAN multi-stakeholder consultation of NGOs, cooperatives
and MFIs working on migration and development
• Training of Trainers on gender- sensitive financial literacy of
migrant associations, embassies, labor office, companies in
countries of destination to reach out to migrants
• Training of trainers on gender- sensitive financial literacy for
local government, NGOs, cooperatives in countries of origin to
reach out to the families left
• Pilot pooling of investment of small savers such as domestic
workers that will link their enterprises as part of supply chain
of successful cooperatives and enterprises
