-
An invitation to a fellowship: Rebranding ‘balikbayan,’ what it means and what it can be
By Rexy Josh Dorado Having spent equal halves of my life in the Philippines and in the United States, I never know whether to call myself a Filipino American or an American Filipino – which word defines the other, which adjective colors the essence. Since my arrival in the U.S. at the age of 11, […]
-
Manhattan’s Dwight School community shares a part of their homes with the PHL
By Audrey Enriquez What started as a simple request for friends to donate old towels, blankets, and bed sheets to be taken to the Philippines over Christmas, quickly turned into a staggering collection of 67 balikbayan boxes. The Monday following Typhoon Yolanda’s devastating sweep of the southern Philippines, members of the Dwight School community checked […]
-
Jersey City violinist to perform in Dec. 8 winter concert
Ryan Ramos of Jersey City will perform in the Greater Newark Youth Orchestra’s 24th annual winter concert on Sunday, December 8, at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway. The program showcases New Jersey’s student musicians in one concert. They include the Greater Newark Youth Orchestra (GNYO), the Greater Newark Chamber Orchestra (GNCO) and […]
-
Youth to celebrate Andres Bonifacio’s 150th birthday with 2 festivals
Progressive Filipino youth in New York and New Jersey will celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio as a working-class hero and a freedom fighter. Two festivals will be held on November 30 in his honor: the Bayanihan Cultural Festival and the Sumisigaw Youth Festival to be held at St. Jacobus Lutheran Church, Rainbow […]
-
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. […]
-
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 […]
-
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 […]
-
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,” […]
-
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 […]