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Jersey boys on a mission: To collect old clothes and cash donations for the PHL
By Cristina DC Pastor The morning after Typhoon Haiyan mauled the Philippines’ Visayan islands with unmatched fury, three well-scrubbed suburban boys from Cranford, New Jersey sprang into action. “I asked Ryan if he wants to help. He’s my best friend, he lives on my street,” said Josh Furer, 12, a seventh-grader at Hillside Avenue School. […]
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Rachelle Ocampo enters second term as UniPro president
Health educator and Makilala co-host Rachelle Ocampo was re-elected president of the Pilipino American Unity for Progress, vowing to continue UniPro’s efforts at collaboration and breaking barriers in the Asian community. Also elected to the executive board for 2013-2014 are Iris Zalun as vice president, Jonelyn Planillo as treasurer, Kirklyn Escondo as secretary, Randy Gonzales […]
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FilAm families unaware of Obamacare (Part 2)
By Cristina DC Pastor Of approximately 230,000 Asian American children in the metropolitan New York, about 13 percent or 30,000 are Filipino American. FilAm children in New York have a high insurance coverage, said Noilyn Abesamis‐Mendoza of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families. Filipinos have the lowest rate of uninsurance at 3 percent […]
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Affordable Care Act improves access to care for children with disability: advocates (Part 1)
By Cristina DC Pastor Zariah Jimenez, a young girl with autism, regularly reports to two specialist doctors. Paying her medical costs would be financially draining, but her mother made sure she is covered under the government’s Medicaid for Individuals with Disabilities (MID). “As one with a documented disability, she has actually the highest coverage available,” […]
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On board Kate Blanco’s Jeepney Hub
By Maricar CP Hampton & Cristina DC Pastor For one who came to the United States at age 18, Kate Nicole Blanco has stared in the face the struggles of one trying to get started, assimilate and survive, belatedly, in America. The first hurdle: language and accent. “I have to tell people that I was […]
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FilAms urged to join the Jersey City police force
Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop and Council President Rolando Lavarro, Jr. are launching a Jersey City Minority Police Recruitment Drive on August 23rd in a bid to bring in bring in more officers into the police force who come from immigrant communities. “We have made a commitment to expanding and enhancing our Jersey City […]
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Steven Raga: ‘Young FilAms more politically aware than politically conscious’
By Maricar CP Hampton and Cristina DC Pastor Steven Raga, with his trademark aviator shades perched on his head, has seen it all with youth organizing. One of the founders of UniPro – or the Pilipino American Unity for Progress – the Queens-born activist was there for the birth of many youth organizations and witnessed […]
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Queens parents demand air-conditioned buses for special needs children
On Monday August 5, a dozen parents, grandparents, children and neighbors demanded the right to air conditioning for riders and workers on the school bus in hot weather. The target was the Ozone Park bus yard of companies known by several different names (eg. Little Richie, Lorinda, Little Linda) but apparently run by the same […]
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Parents rue that for some FilAm youth, education is no longer a priority
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. The aforementioned comment appeared heavy on the minds of some half-a-dozen Filipino American parents. No, they did not hesitate to inquire whether some from their ethnicity, parents like themselves, are going through similar experiences on how their daughters and sons are faring with respect to their outlook on education. One […]