Dubai: The UAE is set to become a pilot nation for a financial literacy project for Filipinos.
Set to be launched on November 23, the pilot project is expected to draw 2,000 Filipinos and will educate them on aspects of management of personal finances to allow for savings and look at possibilities for investments in the Philippines.
The Pinoy Wise Movement campaign is an offshoot of another project between Atikha and the UAE Ministry of Labour launched last year.
It is supported by the Philippine mission in the UAE and will be launched in Abu Dhabi next month.
The UAE is the pilot country, followed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Speaking to Gulf News ahead of the international launch of Pinoy Wise Movement (Pinoy Worldwide Initiative on Savings Investment and Entrepreneurship), Estrella Anonuevo said it’s time to turn the tide.
“We began exporting labour since the 1900s, beginning with those who worked in plantations abroad. It was followed by professionals who worked in the US and Europe in the ’60s, and the massive labour migration in the ’70s,” Anonuevo, executive director of Atikha that conducts financial literacy training among Filipinos, told Gulf News.
“We have been sending our workforce abroad but we have yet to feel the full positive impact of migration in the community and family level,” she added.
“We have noted that the OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) population here is really big and the jobs are varied—a big portion are professionals. “Second, the host government is very supportive and open to this initiative,” Anonuevo said.
Currently, an estimated 600,000 Filipinos are living and working in the UAE that contributes to the overall $20 billion-remittance to the country yearly.
In 2002, a study done by Atikha revealed that seven out of 10 OFW families had no savings.
10 years later, the data remain unchanged. Through their campaign, Atikha aims to change this by empowering not just OFWs here but also their families back home through goal-setting strategies.
“Before they went out of the country, they had big dreams for their family. Because of the social costs or negative effects of long-term separation, some of their dreams seem impossible to attain.
“This initiative will prepare for emergency situations, in case of a job loss for example. So through this you will be trained to prepare for a crisis to protect you and prepare you as you go home,” Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Grace Princesa told Gulf News.
During the launch, Atikha will train about 2,000 Filipinos from all over the UAE and guide them in choosing from investment opportunities in agribusiness — the sector hardest hit by migration.
