Migrant returnee trains at Jandug noodle factory
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Josephine Gildo (far left) on a visit to Unlad Kabayan to discuss her potential business
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Josephine, wife of Jerome Gildo, a member of a savings group in Taiwan, went on a training and exposure visit to Best Choice noodle factory in Davao in December 2007. Best Choice is an assisted enterprise of Unlad Kabayan. Josephine herself is a returnee, and was previously a factory worker in Taiwan.
The training is in line with the plan of Invista Far Eastern reintegration and savings group (RSG) to put up a noodle factory in Cavite. The group committed to pool at least Php 400,000 capital for the enterprise.
For its technical assistance to the group, Unlad Kabayan conducted a market research study to test the viability of the proposed project. Unlad Kabayan also negotiated with Jaime Jandug, the owner of the noodle factory, for Gildo’s visit.
The Hope Workers’ Center in Taiwan also expressed willingness to allocate incubation fund for the enterprise.
Satisfied with the result of the training, Gildo thanked Jandug for the assistance and accommodation.
Unlad Davao at migrant rights training in Cambodia
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Melody Java (center) at a breakout session of the DTP in Cambodia |
In October 2007, Unlad Kabayan Davao participated at the Diplomacy Training Program (DTP) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), in partnership with the DTP of the University of New South Wales in Australia, co-organized the 4th regional training progam on migrant workers' rights and advocacy in Asia and the Pacific.
The training course follows on from previous capacity-building programs on migrant workers rights facilitated by MFA and DTP: Indonesia (2004), Bangladesh (2005) and Malaysia (2006). The week-long program focused on International Conventions related to migrant rights and welfare, and other relevant legal standards, which are used in media campaigns, lobbying and advocacy.
Melody Java, officer-in-charge of Unlad Davao, participated in the week-long training. She also manages the food processing project of the organization. Building a network of social enterprises in the local community is a poverty reduction strategy employed by Unlad.
The learnings from the DTP add value to Unlad’s programmatic approach. Unlad enables migrants and the marginalized sector to become assets and key actors in development, not just through their wages, but by maximizing available resources and empowering migrants and their communities to become entrepreneurs in their own right. This way, more jobs and livelihood are created in the community, and going abroad to work can eventually become an option rather than a necessity for migrants and their families. Analyzing labor migration through a human rights lens continues to enrich Unlad’s programs and builds up the capacity of the staff as well.
