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Bullied for ‘being different,’ young FilAm is now an aspiring journalist
By Rhea Panela I am a first-generation Filipino-American, who is entering my fourth and final year at the University of Washington in Seattle. Following my passion for storytelling, I veered away from the pre-nursing route my parents had envisioned for me and applied to the small but competitive major of journalism. I also picked up […]
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Inspired by the Philippines’ past, NYC school children create art for the present
By Cristina DC Pastor A paper mâché laptop, repurposed costume jewelry, a bicycle in mixed media. These are some of the everyday objects created by New York City school children, inspired by an exhibit on the Philippines’ colonial past, “Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms.” “To help us understand how Filipinos from a long time […]
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Rafael Muniz III: His music therapy makes seniors feel young
By Cristina DC Pastor “Do you know the capital of the Philippines?” barked activity coach Rafael Muniz III to a hall where more than 40 elderly adults were standing, waiting to sweat it out. They hollered, “Manila!” That was Rafael’s signal to turn on the Hotdog hit “Manila” which began slowly, “Maraming beses na kitang […]
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The odds of an OFW nurse as Philippine First Lady? FilAm nurses weigh in
By Cristina DC Pastor The question of who should be First Lady to Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte rakes up a lot of historic ‘firsts.’ It will be the first time a politician will be taking office as president separated from his wife. It is likely to be the first time he will be publicly seen […]
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$76K judgment for trafficked physical therapist; 3 staffing agencies charged with coercion, fraud
Three staffing companies were hit with a $76,000 judgment in a lawsuit which claimed that they violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act by luring a Filipino man to the United States with false promises of a highly paid full-time job, according to the website Pechman Law Group PLLC. The […]
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What happens to nurses who go into retirement?
By Cristina DC Pastor For the tens of thousands of Filipino American nurses in the New York metropolitan area, options for the proverbial ‘long vacations’ are varied. Some go into business by opening their own staffing agencies or nursing homes for the elderly. Some pursue hobbies they have put in the back burner, such as […]
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NextDayBetter’s pneumonia awareness: Helping the homeland one meaningful action at a time
Pneumonia is the leading cause of childhood death in the Philippines. There is a vaccine to prevent the disease, but at about $45 per child, the price charged to the government by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, this price may become unsustainable in the future. NextDayBetter, a storytelling platform for diaspora communities, has joined Doctors Without Borders’s […]
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Tandaan mo, iha, ikaw ay ‘Raised Pinay’*
By Cristina DC Pastor In the mid-1990s, feminist Eve Ensler wrote and performed “The Vagina Monologues,” recreating in prose how this pleasure shrine is used to celebrate and subjugate women. The multi-part play became a big hit for shattering the taboo and making the ‘vagina’ a sociopolitical tour de force, the message of ending violence […]
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FilAm mom’s birthday letter to her son in the Philippines: ‘Our distance I carry with a heavy heart’
By Laura Garcia, RN My dearest son, Images of you flashed through my mind as I reminisce the days and months I carried you. I could still remember your first kick inside my belly. I wasn’t even sure if it was a kick or a punch, it was that intense! I knew then you were […]