The life of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) is definitely not a walk in the park. It is a path filled with various challenges that it is not recommend for those with a weak heart. In many instances, an OFW goes out of the county to work with a very small idea of what’s in store for them in their host country.

Homesickness, racial discrimination, maltreatment are just some of the problems that an OFW may encounter while working abroad. It is therefore important for an OFW to have a strong support group while working overseas.

And the good news is that there is a group that offers counseling services to OFWs for free. The group also made it easy for OFWs to avail their free service because the counseling can be done online by visiting OFWOnline.net

The free counseling service for OFWs is a project of the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development (Ateneo CORD), formerly known as the Human Resources Center. Its mission is to ensure the effectiveness of organizations and communities and improve the quality of life of workers through research, training, and consulting.

Free Services They Offer to OFWs

OFWOnline provides a venue where OFWs and their families can seek support from either their peers or trained counselors. There are three services that are being offered for free in this site:

Counseling services           

The OFW can talk to a counselor online any time of the day. Their counselors are trained by the Ateneo de Manila University. One can choose a counselor to talk to but they must take into consideration the counselor’s schedule. Counseling sessions are for a maximum of one hour per session. Follow-up sessions with the counselors should be made by appointment.        

Family Chat Rooms

An OFW can chat online with their family using the family chat room. The privacy of OFW and their families is assured.

Forums

One can communicate with other OFWs or OFW families using the forums. The OFW are encouraged to post any issue or concern or respond to someone else’s post.