The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has awarded the first tranche of livelihood grants to a group of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been maintaining a local business in Negros Oriental.
Executive Director Dindi Tan, of the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), led the awarding of a check amounting to P200,000 to the members of the Tayasan Overseas Filipino Workers Association (TOFWA).
Tan said the group is entitled to receive a total amount of P1,000,000 for their Ready-To-Lay chicken business under the Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa pag-Unlad ng Samahang OFWs (Tulong-PUSO) program.
"This project is intended for our OFWs and their families. We extend financial grants to our beloved OFWs to encourage them to engage in businesses instead of just waiting for remittances from their loved ones abroad," Tan told Manila Bulletin.
Alongside Tan in awarding the grants were Dir. Martel R. Dasayon, Regional Director of OWWA-Regional Welfare Office 7 (RWO7), and Tayasan Mayor Susano Antonio D. Ruperto III.
Ruperto thanked the OWWA and the NRCO for providing livelihood grants for their constituents.
OWWA said TOFWA is the first recipient of the Tulong-PUSO program in Negros Oriental province, and they are qualified to receive a maximum grant of P1 million for their proposed business.
The DOLE-OWWA Tulong-PUSO program is a reintegration program for OFW groups affected by the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is a one-time livelihood financial grant for OFW groups duly recognized by DOLE, Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to OWWA.