“I will start saving a portion of remittance once I receive it. I will no longer access loans from 5-6” These were Rosita Sawitan’s realizations upon attending SEDPI’s training on financial literacy for remittance receivers. Rosita is a 45 year old housewife who lives in Claveria, Misamis Oriental. Her daughter is an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who works as a demostic helper in Germany.
In 2010, SEDPI conducted 23 financial literacy training events all over the Philippines to remittance receivers all over the Philippines. A total of 588 remittance receivers attended the training events from Albay, Baguio, Cebu City, Davao City, Davao del Sur, La Union, Misamis Oriental, North Cotabato, Pangasinan, Zamboanga del Sur and Metro Manila.
Remittances play a vital role in the domestic economy. Total remittances from OFWs received in 2009 approximately comprise 15% of the Philippine Gross Domestic Product. It is therefore important to raise the awareness of both receivers and senders to maximize the use of remittances.
SEDPI’s training on financial literacy focus on building the knowledge and skills to manage scarce resources with tools such as budgeting, saving, borrowing, spending and financial planning. It emphasizes that remittances is a major source of household income but should be treated as inconsistent and temporary. The overall goal of the training is to break the cycle of dependency on remittances.