Former Domestic Servant Uses Facebook to Fight Modern Day Slavery

Feb. 2, 2012 - PRLog -- The Philippines is a nation of migrant workers or Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). At any given moment, there are over ten million Filipinos, or roughly ten percent of the country's population working abroad. Although the majority of Filipino migrant workers are successful, the horror stories of abuse are an almost daily occurrence. Unfortunately, the impact of that abuse hits hardest on the most vulnerable sector of the OFW population made up of unskilled women workers. According to Myrna Padilla, founder OFW Watch, "Facebook and mobile technology can be used to empower the strongest migrant workersto watch out for the weakest among us and to provide the world with an example of how to apply technology to fight human trafficking."



"Let's face the facts." says Padilla. "The sheer size of the world's migrant population makes it very difficult for any government agency charged with protecting the migrant to do their job without help. We want to use platforms like Facebook, combined with check-in and mobile technology, to help fight the evils of modern day human slavery."



According to Ms. Padilla, "The Philippines supplies the world with millions of highly educated and technically advanced professionals and dedicated domestic workers. These are migrant workers who are making significant contributions to the success of their employers and to the societies of their host countries. "


"We are not a nation of helpless victims," says Padilla. "We are a nation of innovators and we can provide an example for other migrant communities to follow."


Using a combination of Facebook and mobile technology, her team has built a website called OFW Watch, that allows OFWs to register their mobile and Facebook accounts. The long term objective is to create an interconnected network of OFWs all over the world and provide them with the tools required to help each other and help the world fight modern day human slavery.



According to Padilla, the Philippines IT-BPO Industry has been developing a reputation for innovation. The industry already has overtaken India as the number one in voice services worldwide and is quickly establishing itself in other areas as well. The industry has been developing a growing expertise in both mobile and social media application development.



As for the Filipino people, the OFW Watch group points out that the Philippines is consistently one of the top countries in the world in the use of Facebook with over 90% of the OFW population with internet access having a Facebook account.



As for her new initiative, Padilla says," There is no name for what we are trying to do. OFW Watch is not just another social network, although it does take advantage of Facebook and Twitter platforms. And our intended use of check-in technology and mobile applications are not traditional. Maybe one day the experts will refer to it as a social monitoring and mobilization platform."


Padilla sums up what they are doing by saying, "We can hear an OFW's  cry for help, even in the dark."



The group behind OFW Watch contends, the first sign an OFW or migrant worker is suffering enslavement or abuse is when the employer cuts off the victim's communication with the outside world. They refer to this as 'going dark'.



Through the use of check-in technology, the anonymous monitoring of login activity on social networks and mobile applications, the group claims they can detect when someone is forced to go dark. This in turn triggers alerts to the network to take action.



However, detecting a cry for help is only half the problem, the other half of the problem is taking action. With 10 to 12 million OFWs, the task of helping can be daunting. For example, within the Philippine Department of Labor there are a total of 9,800 employees and only a small number of that group are tasked with OFW/migrant issues. The numbers are simply overwhelming.



OFW Watch seeks to turn the problem of overwhelming numbers into the solution. They point out that because there are literally millions and millions of OFWs scattered throughout the world, no matter where an OFW may need help, there are usually hundreds, if not thousands of fellow OFWs within a few kilometers. The group behind OFW Watch believes they can mobilized nearby OFWs by using call center technology developed by the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing Industry to help government agencies or NGOs in reaching out to the distressed OFW.



Ms. Padilla says, "Having been an OFW myself for over 20 years, I know 70 to 80 percent of the OFWs would respond to a call for help from a fellow OFW, if only given the opportunity to do so."



The OFW Watch group believes it is not just a case of the Filipino caring for each other, but when someone is torn from their family for years at a time, they seek something to bind them back home. Helping each other serves as a way of reestablishing that bond.



To get things started and deliver immediate benefits to the OFW community, the OFW Watch website has developed a database of thousands of addresses, telephones numbers, maps and emails of organizations involved with the OFW. The database includes the normal address, telephone number, maps and descriptions, but there is where the familiar directory ends. The Directory also includes a real time link to POEA's database to check the validity of a recruiter's license and a sophisticated rating and review system.


"If the world can use social media to rate restaurants," said Padilla, "then we can use social media to rate recruiting agencies and other businesses delivering services to the OFW."



When asked about the concerns of some that the internet and mobile technology are out of reach of the most vulnerable sector, the OFW Watch group points out that today's high-end smart phone will be next year's mid-priced or low-end solution and that the number of people with access to the internet is growing not shrinking.



According to Padilla, "It is only a matter of time before the technology will be within the reach of every OFW. The important thing now is for the OFW community to connect with each other so we are able to provide a network capable of helping the most vulnerable among us in the future."



Ms. Padilla knows something about being an OFW and something about the Business Process Outsourcing Industry. She herself was a former domestic helper and an OFW for over 20 years and was the Founder of the Mindanao Hong Kong Worker's Federation. She returned to the Philippines in 2006 to found a successful business process outsourcing company called Mynd Consulting. She points to her involvement in the BPO industry as a source of inspiration. She notes that the real long term solution is the creation of meaningful employment for the Filipino here in the Philippines. She points with pride to the IT-BPO industry, noting that together the industry has created over 600,000 direct jobs. To her that means 600,000 families that will not be ripped apart, but instead kept intact here in the Philippines. That she notes  is the real long term solution to the problem.

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Mynd Consulting is a Business Process Outsourcing company in Davao City, Philippines that specializes in mobile and social media applications, Facebook and mobile technology, Supply Programmers and graphic design.