Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are called our modern-day heroes or mga ‘Bagong Bayani’. But even heroes need help, too.
With the OFW’s need for help in mind, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) brought its programs and services on Sunday (June 8) to the OFW Serbisyo Caravan in Chatel Road, Hong Kong organized by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Hong Kong is home to more than 200,000 OFWs based on the latest DMW figures.
The OFW Serbisyo Caravan is an initiative of the DMW for the OFWs or the “Bagong Bayani ng Mundo,” which features the convergence of services and programs by various national government agencies.
This initiative is aligned with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to ensure that no sector is left behind in developing a Bagong Pilipinas.
“Binibigyang pugay natin ang sakripisyo ng mga kababayan nating OFWs upang itaguyod ang kanilang pamilya, at makapag-contribute sa development ng ating bansa. Hindi naman lingid sa atin ang mga balita ukol sa mga kinakaharap na pagsubok ng ating mga bagong bayani,” Undersecretary Monina Josefina Romualdez of the DSWD Operations Group told the Hong Kong-based OFWs.
Undersecretary Romualdez said the Department will set up an information desk manned by social workers who will explain the programs and services available to the OFWs and their families.
Undersecretary Romualdez pointed out that the Department also gives importance to the OFW’s mental health and brought DSWD’s WiSupport program to the Serbisyo Caravan.
“WiSupport is a psychosocial support program of DSWD designed to address the mental health and psychosocial needs of our kababayans. From the very start, this program was pursued to provide those in need access to platforms where they can express their mental health concerns and seek psychosocial support,” the DSWD official said.
The DSWD’s resident psychologist Estrellita Turingan provided direct psychosocial interventions during the caravan.
“Isa sa mga challenges ng mga kababayan nating OFWs ay yung homesickness at yung pagiging mag-isa na maaaring magdulot ng mental at emotional challenges. Kasama natin ngayon dito ang ating psychologist mula sa isa sa ating center upang makapagbigay ng direk na serbisyo,” Undersecretary Romualdez said.
The DMW has noted six OFW suicide cases in 2023, five in 2024, and one as of April 2025 in Hong Kong alone.
The OFW Serbisyo Caravan in Hong Kong is just the start and the same initiative will also be held in countries with high numbers of Filipino workers such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, and the United Kingdom. (GDVF)