Filipino Organizations Launch “Bayanihan Qatar”

Good news to all the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Qatar! Bayanihan Qatar was formally launched last August 17, 2018, and it will be a great help to the Filipino community, especially to those who are in need.

Bayanihan Qatar is an umbrella group of various Filipino organizations in Qatar aiming to provide help and support to their fellow Filipinos working in the country.

Bayanihan Qatar has been Officially Launched

Filipino organizations in Qatar have formally launched Bayanihan Qatar last August 17, 2018, at the Governor West Bay Suites and Residences, The Peninsula reported.

Bayanihan Qatar is a coalition of 20 Filipino organizations whose members are mostly household service workers, construction workers, and hospitality industry workers in Qatar. It was established in June last year and since then, it has been extending a helping hand to the Filipino community through many outreach initiatives supporting the programs of the Philippine Embassy and Qatar.

The organizations under the Bayanihan Qatar have jointly pursued various projects and initiatives that aim to help their fellow Filipinos who are in need. In fact, they have already helped nearly 400 distressed OFWs through their outreach programs. Among the initiatives they have pursued throughout the year are trainings and clean-up drives.

With all the achievements of the organizations, the members have decided to formally establish themselves as a federation guided by the constitution and laws that define their aspirations, objectives, and organizational structures and policies. “We do so in the belief that it will raise the level of our organization,” stated the Bayanihan.

During a speech by Philippine Labour Attaché David Des Dicang at the launching event, he stressed the importance of the spirit of bayanihan (cooperative endeavour) and encouraged the members of Bayanihan Qatar to work together to turn any challenges that might come their way into blessings.

“Launching is just the beginning of many great things to come. I hope that our partnership will be stronger and we’ll have more interaction with each other in the future,” Dicang said. As per figures released by the Ministry of interior in January 2018, the Filipino population in Qatar is comprised of 17,900 government office workers, 91,000 household service workers and 125,000 who are engaged in private businesses, he revealed.

Also present in the said launching event was the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI), a global union federation of democratic and free trade unions in the building, building materials, wood forestry, and allied industries.

BWI Global Campaign Director Jin Suk Lee assured Bayanihan Qatar that BWI is committed to provide support to the organization in whatever way they can.

The launching event program of Bayanihan Qatar included the election as well as the oath-taking of the executive officers of the Bayanihan and the presentation and approval of the group’s constitution and priority action program for the next two years.

With the official launching of Bayanihan Qatar, Filipinos will be more relieved that they have someone to rely on especially in times of distress. Good work, Bayanihan Qatar! Meanwhile, here are the services offered by the Philippine Embassy and Overseas Labor Office in Qatar, for your reference.