This project was initiated by discussions in early 2003 between the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People- CBCP (ECMI)/Apostleship of the Sea-Manila and the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC) to undertake a research project on left behind families that would guide the development of more responsive policies and programs. Previously, the two institutions cooperated on a research project in 1996 which looked into the situation of young children left behind. Continuing migration amidst many other developments called for a new assessment of how families, especially children, are coping with separation, remittances, children’s well-being and many other related issues. To ensure that research findings would find their way into government policies and programs, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) was invited and it agreed to cooperate in this nationwide study. Fr. Paulo Prigol, cs, former Executive Director of the ECMI, started the ball rolling and was instrumental in forging a partnership among the three institutions to join forces for this project. Bishop Ramon D. Arguelles, former Chairman of the ECMI, supported and encouraged this endeavor. With grateful hearts, we acknowledge the support of the Department of Education, particularly the offices of the National Capital Region, Region III, Region IV-A, Region VI, Region VII and Region XI. Many thanks to the superintendents, supervisors, principals, guidance counselors and teachers in the 130 public and private schools for graciously allowing us to conduct the pre-screening activities and the interviews. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration shared background data on the profile and distribution of overseas Filipino workers. Our consultants, Dr. Ana Maria Tabunda and Dr. Ma. Cecilia Gastardo- Conaco of the University of the Philippines, generously shared their expertise and advice. The Scalabrini Migration Center provided overall direction for the project. Dr. Maruja M.B. Asis steered the project from its inception to the preparation of this report. Special thanks go to the survey teams which carried out the prescreening and interviews. Ms. Cecilia Ruiz-Marave and Ms. Ma. Cecilia V. Guerrero of the Scalabrini Migration Center, Dr. Gereon Cabarles and Ms. Christine Joy Ballada of Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod, Prof. Rowena Villarama of the University of the Philippines College Cebu, and Prof. Jerome Serrano of Ateneo de Davao University ably managed the data collection in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. We appreciate the hard work and dedication of the women and men who served as interviewers. Many others were involved as facilitators, documentors, transcribers and coders. The staff and personnel of the partner agencies in the Manila office and in the regions contributed in taking care of details concerning finances and logistics. We thank them for their tireless efforts. Ma. Leonila Domingo patiently did the layout and formatting of this report and other project documents. Marcial G. Conaco III translated key texts and concepts into beautiful illustrations in this report.

Without doubt, this study rested on the participation of the children and families of migrant workers. We thank the children for their openness and trust during the interviews. We have been privileged to hear the experiences of the left-behind daughters, sons, wives/mothers and husbands/fathers, as well as community workers involved with the families of migrants. Theirs are the voices and experiences that animate this report – and these will be our touchstone in developing meaningful policies and programs.