OFWs' Kids Want To Work Abroad, Too - Research Study

MANILA, September 25 , 2004 (STAR) By Nikko Dizon - Most children of
overseas Filipino workers intend to be OFWs themselves in the future,
according to a joint research project conducted by the Catholic Bishops'
Conference of the Philippines migrant office, the government and private
sector.

"The children's responses indicate that overseas migration will
continue. This early, the children are already entertaining thoughts of
migrating and working abroad, and their career plans are very much shaped
by what would be marketable abroad," the 2003 Children and Family Study
revealed.

"This has implications not just for the family but for the
country as a whole," it said.

The study was undertaken by the Episcopal Commission for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People/Apostleship of the
Sea-Manila, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the Scalabrini
Migration Center from October to December last year.
The study had a total of 1,443 children of migrant and
non-migrant workers as respondents. Surveys were conducted among children
10-12 years old in public and private schools. Older children
participated in the Focus Group Discussions.

Of the respondents, 47.3 percent said they had entertained
thoughts of working abroad. Of this figure, 60 percent were children of
OFWs.

Young as they are, the children cited "economic need" as the
dominant reason for their desire to work abroad.
Close to half of the respondents who said they want to work
abroad preferred to work in the United States, followed by East Asian
destinations.

A majority of respondents also said they want to work as
doctors, nurses, and engineers abroad.
The study also showed that parental absence caused
"displacements, disruptions, and changes in caregiving arrangements"
involving the children.

However, technology such as the use of cell phones has helped in
maintaining "a feeling of solidarity among the family members across the
miles." The study noted that OFW families invest heavily in maintaining
communication.

Although most children of OFWs experience "emotional
displacement," as one or both parents have to leave them to earn a
living, the study discovered that they are not "disadvantaged vis-a-vis
the children of non-migrants in many dimensions of well-being."

The study said the children of migrant workers are "markedly
better off compared to the children of non-migrants" in terms of
socio-economic variables, an observation shared by children of OFWs
themselves.

For example, more OFW children are enrolled in private schools.
They are also more likely to participate in extra-curricular activities
such as camping, field trips, and school programs.

Children of OFWs who are in their elementary years in school are
also performing well academically, the study said.

From: lquesada@newsflash.org