BANGUED, Abra - The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) launched on September 27, 2008 in Abra the Search for the 2008 Model Overseas Filipino Worker Family of the Year Award (MOFYA).
OWWA-CAR Director Manuel N. Peña explained, the search for the MOFYA is an annual award-giving project designed to give recognition to outstanding OFW families to promote best practices in achieving success in all aspects of their life in the face of overseas migration of one or more members of the household.
The theme for this year's MOFYA is "Parangal sa Matatag na Pamilyang OFW. It emphasizes the importance of family values. Nominations will be accepted until October 17, 2008. Nomination forms are available at the OWWA_CAR Office in Baguio City and at the Provincial Information Centers of the Philippine Information Agency.
MOFYA 2008 has expanded its award-giving from the three-island groups in the country to two national winners that would now come from the land-based and sea-based OFWs wherein a total of 34 regional winners from the 17 regions of the country will be awarded.
In addition, special recognition and prizes shall also be given to the OFW families who will earn the Outstanding Achievement in Community Projects Award and Outstanding Achievement in Entrepreneurship Award.
The national winners will be given a total cash prize of P600,000.00 plus trophy while the regional winners will be given a total of P25,000.00 plus plaques. The special awardees on the other hand will be given P50,000.00 plus trophy.
The launching was coincided with the training-workshop on livelihood development for the OFWs and OFW Coordinators from the various local government units in the province on September 27 - 28, 2008 at the Abra State Institute of Sciences and Technology - Bangued Campus.
Initially, the training-workshop and general assembly meeting of the OFW municipal coordinators in Abra was supposed to undertake a re-organization of the federation of officers in the province. However, the group decided to do the reorganization in the cluster of municipalities to ensure better representation of all the areas in the province and to give the members the opportunity to learn more about the programs and projects of the OWWA which they can avail of for their own benefit.
The federation will later on go around the various clusters of municipalities in Abra to give an orientation on the OWWA programs and projects before conducting the reorganization of the OFW association here.
The training-workshop for livelihood aims to provide business opportunities for the OFW families to augment their income especially those who have already come back to the country for good. (Maritess Beñas/PIA-Abra)
