Excerpt from my welcome remarks in the first ever major event of OFSI-TGFI Kuwait community last August 29, 2015 with special gratitude to the founder and CEO of TGFI, Mr. Floi Wycoco. Our gratitude also goes to Mr. Jayson Logan Lo, who gave a more than 2 hours seminar for FREE. Such selfless and generous individuals.
"Seventeen years ago, I left a dream job in Makati to be an
OFW – away from my family and friends, to an unfamiliar place, culture and
weather condition. I was literally crying at night and even begged my boss to
just send me home at that time. But deep within, I knew that I have to stay on
for my dreams and goals in life, not for myself but for my family. But with
such situation, I also knew then that I do not want to spend my whole life
being an OFW.
Like most Filipinos, I did not know other ways to grow whatever
is left of my hard- earned money. Until
I found my way to investing, thanks to Mr. Francisco Colayco, Bro Bo Sanchez
and later on to Mr. Randell Tiongson, the three most influential people in my
financial journey, whose books enriched my financial knowledge.
Ten years ago, I was just dreaming financial freedom and
abundance for myself and family. I started investing in mutual funds, bonds and
stocks apart from instrument athat we Filipinos are already familiar with –
real estate and agriculture. I became better steward of my financial blessings.
I tried my best to only spend what I can afford and within my budget. I had to
make lots of sacrifices just to balance for the needs of my big family,
experience some luxuries with my family and slowly building funds for my goals
for the future.
Five years ago, I
started to dream for my friends and colleagues who are OFWs, that they too can
aspire to retire young and truly rich by proper saving and investing.
Today, I am now dreaming for all OFWs. I am dreaming for the
Filipinos of my generation. I am dreaming that OFWs become financially
literate, so that they know how to save and invest properly for their future
goals and needs in life. I am dreaming for new breed of OFWs working on the
vision of lesser disintegration of Filipino families because of the need to
work abroad. New breed of OFWs who are working on creating an environment for
the next generation of Filipinos, who no longer need to leave their families
and friends behind, a Philippines with its families intact.
As OFWs, we know the pain and struggle of being away from
home. In fact, many of the officers of OFSI are second generation OFWs who do
not only know how it is to become an OFW, but many of us grew up with our
parents or one of our parents abroad. We can never describe in words the
longings of our hearts as we see other families complete while growing up.
For our guests who are asking about OFSI, OFSI is Overseas
Filipino Stocks Investors - a group of young OFWs who are advocating financial
education for fellow OFWs. OFSI is a modern day bayanihan of Filipinos, OFWs helping
fellow OFWs and their families to achieve financial freedom and abundance
through financial education.
OFSI advocates saving and investing with the right mindset
and strategy – fighting scams and lessening hit and miss in financial
decisions.
The vision of OFSI is now a reality to more than 200 members
who has undergone the basic financial literacy series for OFWs with our 5
modules series plus the regular monthly sessions. OFSI partnered with TGFI (The
Global Filipino Investors) in this endeavor creating the OFSI-TGFI Kuwait
community with online attendees from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi and the
Philippines. And today, our growth continues with almost 100 attendees in our
ongoing sessions – future OFW investors like us. We are now playing a big brother role to
other OFW communities in the Middle East helping them create similar
communities of OFWs.
We take pride in this advocacy, which is being provided to
OFWs for FREE – unbiased financial education independent from any business
entity. We sustain our activities by the generosity of members. In fact, I feel
so blessed that even today, fellow OFWS approach us volunteering their time and
resources just so that we can continue to reach out to more OFWs.
Today is such a momentous event for OFSI-TGFI Kuwait
community. This is our first major event – a coming out party by a group who
serves its fellow OFWs without fanfare and publicity, quietly reaching out to
as many as we can. Advocating change in mindset, which comes with constant
challenges not only on resources but by the very community which we wanted to
serve.
And as our battle cry, we are the change that we want to see
the world, the change that we want to see in every OFWs.
In the almost 2 years of existence of OFSI, we would not
have become who we are if not for the trust and confidence of fellow OFWs
especially to my fellow officers for the year 2015.
Thank you officers, members, friends of OFSI and welcome to
our first major event as a community."
www.ofsi.ph Overseas Filipino Stocks Investors (OFSI)
www.tgfiph.com The Global Filipino Investors (TGFI)
