Pandemic-stricken OFWS in Seoul receive relief
SEoul—following a mandate to assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWS), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, recently distributed relief packs to compatriots who were severely affected by the pandemic, in an effort to alleviate their economic hardships.
More than 250 Filipinos received relief packages containing food items, face masks and hand sanitizers from the embassy. These were handed out through the assistance of community leaders, the Daegu Filipino Catholic Community and the Filipino Community Center in Busan.
For the project, the embassy prioritized Filipinos living in hard-hit areas who have lost their employment due to the effects of the health crisis and are unable to access aid from other sources. Community leaders provided invaluable assistance in helping identify recipients and verifying their economic conditions.
Further, the Philippine Embassy, through the Philippine Overseas Labor Office-overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA) in South Korea, distributed hygiene kits and
care packages to OFWS and OWWA members economically affected by the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 throughout the East Asian country.
These efforts are the continuation of the work of the DFA and the Philippine Embassy, together with POLO-OWWA, in helping vulnerable
Filipinos in South Korea. In March and April, the embassy shipped face masks and hand sanitizers to Busan, Daegu and South Gyeongsan provinces to Filipinos who were not eligible to receive free face masks from local sources, and to those unable to purchase the said items due to government measures.