Committed to improving the lives of Filipinos all over the world, PLDT Global Corporation (PLDT Global) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) recently awarded a livelihood package to Annalyn Fernan, a beneficiary of an overseas Filipino worker who passed away in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last year.
With the passing of the family’s breadwinner, Annalyn, now a 37-year-old widow and mother of two, was left with no regular means to support their everyday needs. Over the past year, she’s managed to earn some income by selling rice cakes and processed meat products around their neighborhood in Silang, Cavite.
That situation changed recently.
With the support of PLDT Global’s OFW Family Livelihood Program, Annalyn will be able to train to own and manage a physical version of TINBO (Tindahan ni Bossing) that will showcase products and services from PLDT, Smart, and other companies under the MVP Group.
“This livelihood package comes as a very welcome surprise and will be a big help to our family. This is my first time so I expect to experience some difficulty while I learn how to operate this, but with the training that I have been promised, I will persevere and learn quickly so I can start providing for my family,” Fernan said.
Annalyn also received a “Smart Ka-Partner” retailer package, including a smartphone, marketing, and signage materials to help boost sales in her new venture.
“We hope that through the unified efforts of DMW and PLDT Global together with our local and international partners, we can foster a reliable support network that can assist OFWs to realize their fullest potential and achieve success, may it be in the Philippines or abroad,” said Albert V. Villa-Real, President and CEO at PLDT Global.
“What I like most about this project, we innovate, we enervate, and we also directly connect to the hearts and minds of our dear OFWs. The wife and the two minor children of our deceased OFW will stand to benefit from the livelihood opportunity that will be given to them.,” shared DMW Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac.
“I told Annalyn, that what’s different about this livelihood program from PLDT Global is she was introduced to an expert who can handhold her through the business,” Cacdac concluded, referring to the combined expertise of PLDT Global and the MVP group of companies supporting her.
Malasakit for Filipinos around the world
PLDT Global has previously supported other reintegration initiatives of the DMW. Aside from the livelihood program, PLDT Global also held digital literacy programs for OFWs. Just last year, with the help of the PLDT-Smart Foundation and other partners in the organization, PLDT Global provided upskilling grants, gadgets, and training for cacao farming to reintegrated OFWs. They also gave LearnSmart kits to the children of an OFW who is recovering from an illness in Qatar. A LearnSmart kit is a learning connectivity companion that contains a Smart LTE Pocket Wifi and flash drive preloaded with learning content for students. LearnSmart is an integral part of the telco’s broader commitment to help the country achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4: Inclusive Quality Education.
PLDT Global continues to bridge the digital gap by bringing digital services to Filipinos around the world through products and services, particularly through TINBO -- the one-stop marketplace that enables Filipinos living overseas to buy load, pay bills, send food vouchers, e-gifts, healthcare PINs from mWell, and even gaming PINs for their families in the Philippines. Through TINBO, OFWs can also acquire a Smart virtual number (SVN), enabling them to receive important OTPs from their e-wallets and e-banks in the Philippines like Maya. TINBO also provides overseas Filipinos access to a convenient and secured online bills payment platform for their Philippine utilities, and other digital services while outside the Philippines.
PLDT Global’s partnership with the DMW to help ensure the well-being of OFWs and their families is a fundamental part of the much broader PLDT commitment to serve and lift the quality of life of Filipinos everywhere.
