 |
| Staff and volunteers welcome guests at the soft opening rites |
The OFW Global Center had a soft-opening today on the 18th floor of United Center, four floors above the Consulate, to provide a venue for activities of various organizations and even a place for OFWs to rest.
The center, whose 20,000 square feet occupies the whole 18th
floor of United Center, is the first of its kind and will serve as a pilot for
testing the idea of providing a central venue for OFWs in various parts of the world.
It is a project of the Overseas Workers’ Welfare
Administration and funded by direct appropriation from Congress. Its formal inauguration
is scheduled for January.
 |
| PINDUTIN DITO |
“This is you tahanan
(home),’ Welfare Officer Marilou Sumalinog said during ceremonies to mark its
completion. “It is open to all OFWs and Filipinos overseas.”
She added that the center will have free-flowing coffee and
will serve sandwiches and biscuits for free.
The center has six event halls which can be subdivided into
smaller rooms by movable partitions. “We can use one of them for those who want
to sleep. We know we cannot accommodate all who are in Chater and in subways but
we will try our best to accommodate as many as we can,” Sumalinog said.
 |
| Congen Germie Aguilar Usudan addresses guests |
In her speech, Consul General Germinia Aguilar-Usudan said, “We
promised to open this center this year. We may have gone through the eye of the
needle, but now we are here.”
She added: “This is in recognition of your achievement, hard
work and dedication to your families… and how you contributed to the development
of Hong Kong, how you allowed their women to work and participate in their work
force.”
She also paid tribute to Congressmen, specifically Rep. Yedda
Romualdez of the Tingog Party List, who followed up the funds in the budget, “so
this can be given to you.”
 |
| Basahin ang detalye! |
Labor Attache Melchor Dizon advised the Filipino community
to make full use of the center, which was patterned after the OFW Lounge at Manila
airport’s Terminals 1 and 3, because its success will determine whether similar
centers will be put up overseas.
“If we do not use this fully, other countries that also need
this service may be affected,” he added.
He also assured that services offered in the Center will be
in addition to the programs and services of the Migrant Workers Office and the
OWWA on the 29th floor of the building.
OWWA Director For Administrative and Finance Edelyn Dungan-Claustro,
for her part, noted that the OFW Global Center is the first of its kind. “It
started here in Hong Kong,” she added.
.jpg) |
| PRESS FOR DETAILS |
