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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 […]
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Cannabis dinners: Getting high on a full course meal
By Cristina Dc Pastor There are two ways to enjoy cannabis, declared restaurateur and Filipino food innovator Nicole Ponseca: One is to smoke it, the other to make it part of food, which means consuming it as soup, meat entree or dessert. With that eye opener, Nicole explained to The FilAm the novel ways cannabis […]
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NYC installs free pads, tampons dispensers in Queens, Bronx public schools: ‘Unprecedented, impactful’
The New York City Department of Education has announced the launch of a groundbreaking initiative to outfit public school restrooms with dispensers of free feminine hygiene products. The unprecedented program was an initiative of Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland alongside Congresswoman Grace Meng and Education Chair Daniel Dromm in an effort to reduce health risks, increase access […]