One can almost hear that comment from families across the region who depend on relatives in more developed countries to send home that monthly sum of cash to help those "back-a-yard" cope with the bills and expense that are a daily struggle for many.

They certainly are not happy about word this week from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that remittance flows to Latin America and the Caribbean will drop by 11 per cent this year.

The IDB said the decline in remittances could impact more than four million people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IDB's Multilateral Investment Fund, which tracks the flows annually, estimates that remittances will fall to a three-year low of US$62 billion in 2009.

"The crisis is clearly limiting migrants' capacity to send money home," said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno.

"Nevertheless, remittances have decreased less than other private financial flows to the region, as migrants continue to make sacrifices to provide for their families," he said.

This decline is a reversal for the lucrative remittance sector, whose nominal money flows from rich industrialised countries have up to now been growing annually, though the rate had recently slowed.

In the US, nationals of Cuban and the Dominican Republic appeared to be the worst affected, with more than 50 per cent saying they would send less money home this year.

Jamaica too

But Jamaicans too will feel the pinch.

According to Jamaica's Gleaner newspaper, remittance inflows to the island have already dropped close to 16 per cent since January.

The majority of those sending home money to family in Jamaica are based in the US, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Cayman Islands.

Jamaican remittances are estimated to come in at just over US$1.7 billion this year.

That's US$300 million less than 2008.

Remittance forum

Remittances are seen as so important that a global forum is scheduled to be held on the subject.

The 2009 International Forum on Remittances will take place on 22 and 23 October 2009 in Tunis.

This year's forum will mainly focus on remittances to and within the African continent.

The objective of the forum is to raise awareness among different stakeholders in the remittance market and highlight the potential benefits that remittances can bring to the social and economic development of the African continent.

Across the world remittances are seen as a very important contributing factor, especially to the economies of developing countries.

There have been calls to try to reduce the cost of sending money home by 50 per cent over the next five years.

It's something both those making those all important contributions and those receiving them would welcome with open arms.