Kuwait-Help for migrant workers left stranded.

When they lost their jobs due to the global economic crisis, 50 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Western Visayas thought their future would become bleak.

On Tuesday, however, they saw that a new life, a new chance awaited them. They received a total of P2.5 million or P50,000 each in livelihood loan assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) as start-up capital for small businesses.

"There is still hope," said Corazon Songcayawon, a nurse of more than 20 years who lost her job in Kuwait in February.

The loan is payable in two years with five-percent annual interest and a three-month grace period, according to James Mendiola, Owwa officer-in-charge. The borrowers will pay P2,193.75 per month.

OFWs who avail themselves of the loan will undergo training under the Department of Trade and Industry. The livelihood sessions include meat processing, preparation of no-bake pastries, and ready-to-drink juice.

Many of the workers plan to put up their own businesses, such as variety stories and small piggeries.

Reports from the Owwa regional office showed that 129 OFWs—94 male and 35 female—from Western Visayas had lost their jobs as of April 3. Most of them were employed in the construction industry as board installers, machine operators, welders, factory workers, and engineers.

The biggest number of those displaced worked in the United Arab Emirates (44), followed by Taiwan (29) and Qatar (13). A majority came from Iloilo (71), Negros Occidental (40), Capiz (8), Guimaras (5), Antique (4), and Aklan (1).

Many OFWs wanted to work abroad again, according to Vivian Tornea, director of the Owwa’s Policy and Program Development Office, but several have availed themselves of the agency’s livelihood assistance because of the difficulty in immediately finding jobs abroad.