SOME 300 Filipinos from the cities of Al-Khobar and Dammam completed last Friday an intensive economic reintegration seminar and presentation that provided them with guidelines and information on how to engage in business and livelihood enterprises upon their final return to the Philippines. “The economic reintegration seminar imparted to our overseas workers here in the Eastern Province the needed knowledge and information that will help them plan their own business enterprises and livelihood programs upon their final return after the duration of the work contract here in the Kingdom,” said Labor Attaché David Des Dicang, head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) operation in the Eastern Region. POLO sponsored the five-day seminar, which was held for five weekends, in cooperation with the Overseas Filipino Workers Congress, the organizer of the event and a community partner of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. The seminar presented business opportunities in cooperative ventures, franchising, and agricultural projects such as poultry and goat raising. Representatives of the Philippine National Bank and the Pag-Ibig Fund also presented savings and investment programs as part of the Philippine Government financial literacy campaign for overseas workers. “The seminars and presentations opened many avenues for business opportunities our overseas workers are capable enough to engage in, given their experiences and determination to engage in entrepreneurial activities upon their return home,” said Dr. Gener Benter, Chairman of the reintegration seminar and Vice-President of the OFW Congress Strategic Program. “I am enlightened as to the kind of business venture I will pursue, and will now make preparations for my entrepreneurial goals in cooperation with my family back home,” said Jun Mones who plans to establish a business venure in franchising and cooperatives. During the seminar, franchising in food emerged as the top preference for many Filipino workers. “I manage a small restaurant in Dammam so food franchising is my choice of business upon my return home,” a Filipino from Dammam said. Some teachers who attended the seminar are also planning to set up tutorial schools in Manila. “Given our experience here, we certainly can set up such schools in the Philippines under a franchise agreement,” one teacher said. A wide range of cooperative projects and enterprises was also presented, eliciting interest from many workers, particularly Filipinos working in banks and engineering firms. Marketing opportunities were also offered by companies engaged in a wide range of products and services. Because of the great interest shown in the reintegration seminar, this event will be presented to other Filipino workers in other parts of the Eastern Province, including Jubail and Al-Ahsa, said Labor Attaché Dicang. The president of the OFW Congress, Mary Jane P. Tupas, said more business opportunities will be added to the forthcoming economic reintegration event to be presented in other parts of the Eastern Province. “Through this seminar, we hope to provide the needed drive to empower Filipino workers here in the Kingdom and tell them that now is the time for them to plan for their future,” she said.
