COTABATO CITY— As part of the National Women’s Month (NWM) celebration, the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) provided a 25-kilo rice assistance and hygiene kits to a total of 260 distressed overseas Bangsamoro women workers on March 9.
MSSD Minister Atty. Raisa Jajurie said that the overseas Bangsamoro women workers are included in the vulnerable sectors the ministry is also mandated to protect.
Speaking for the NWM, Jajurie said: “Nagdiriwang tayo, una dahil gusto nating bigyan ng pugay yung ating mga kontribusyon at ating mga accomplishments, tulad ng sinabi hindi lang pang bahay ang ating kagalingan at marami sa atin ay mga lider sa komunidad.”
On the same day, MSSD also gathered the beneficiaries for an orientation on their rights as workers. They are residents of this city and Maguindanao.
The orientation was conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) and the Kaagapay OFW Resource and Service Center, Inc.
One of the beneficiaries from this ciity, Nora Unos, 49, said she was happy to have participated in the orientation for she was able to learn her rights as an overseas worker and as a woman.
Nora decided to work abroad when she was 18 years old to help provide financial support to her family.
Now a mother of four, Nora said her life was hard because she was not able to finish her studies. Hence, her message for the Bangsamoro youth: “Dapat sa mga wata banya saguna na mimasad mangagi ka tubay makadtabang sa kanilan.”
[The young people should really finish their studies as it would greatly help them in life.]
Nora also thanked the MSSD for the assistance they received.
The ministry is targeting to deliver the same assistance to other vulnerable Bangsamoro women sectors in the other parts of the region. (Myrna Tepadan/BIO)
