Bayanihan Foundation Worldwide
Filipinos Abroad Helping Filipinos at Home
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This is the third installment in a series of posts during my trip to the Philippines in January 2011.
Myrla Baldonado and I met with two potential projects that the Bayanihan Foundation is considering to do next. I also added my own personal reflection on the value of education as shared by many Filipino diaspora donors.
1) Law book library for Tarlac State University
Diaspora donor, Barbara Alban from Chicago has made some valuable contacts and she is also planning to donate law books, in addition to the books she had collected for the elementary school library in Iligan City.
Myrla Baldonado, Bayanihan Foundation’s Organizing Director, has identified a potential homeland partner, Tarlac State University that could receive the law books and put them to good use right away. The university has recently opened its law school and has expressed their sincere appreciation of the potential donation.
In fact, they already have shelves ready for the law books!
2) Book drive in Benguet
Next, Myrla and I traveled to Benguet State University in La Trinidad city, northern Luzon.
We met with some of the members of the Benguet State University Alumni Association who will be helpful homeland partners as we plan to distribute books for elementary schools in Benguet. Two potential diaspora donors include community members of the Association of Ifugao Migrant Workers of Israel (AIMWI) and the Baguio Ifugao Benguet Bontoc Apayao Kalinga (BIBBAK) of Chicago who have expressed their interest in donating the books for Benguet.
Reflection
Many Filipino diaspora donors value education as a vital key to improving one’s future. I also saw a lot of universities and colleges as I travel all over the islands.
I agree that education is an important key but it is NOT the only ingredient needed for success. The Philippines has to create jobs at home for these college graduates or else the pressure to migrate and seek employment elsewhere will continue. In the end, the Philippines will just end up being a college factory exporting its educated workforce abroad and continue its dependence on their remittances.
This is the second installment in a series of my recent trip to Manila, Philippines.
On January 15, 2011, I traveled From Iligan City in the south to Buguias, Benguet in the north. I had a traditional Filipino breakfast of fried fish and rice to fortify myself for the long nine-hour bus ride from the capital, Manila.
Why travel to Buguias, Benguet? I traveled there to meet with the foundation’s homeland partners who were introduced to me through our diaspora partners in Tel Aviv, Israel, halfway around the world. Many of our diaspora partners in Tel Aviv hail from this town nestled on top of the Cordillera mountains which top around 10,000 feet above sea level. It felt that the mountains were almost touching the sky.
Myrla and I met with Mr. Sixto Cubangan; he is the father of Daisy Beth Cubangan, one of the Filipina community leaders in Tel Aviv, Israel. Sixto and the other elders shared with us their plans to have wheelchairs, walkers and canes to help the elderly and the invalid in their town. Many of them do not have these basic equipment; so many are immobile and isolated at their homes. Daisy Beth and the other Filipino community leaders in Tel Aviv are planning to support this project. They are currently conducting a raffle draw to raise funds to buy the wheelchairs and other medical equipment.
The foundation’s diaspora donors from Israel brought me to this spectacular mountain town. This visit significant for me as I realized how Filipino workers are so spread out all the world.
I cannot help but reflect on Daisy Beth and her situation as a Filipina caregiver working in Tel Aviv. She came from a green mountain valley with cliffs carved into terraces and planted with vegetables and rice which is a contrast to the dry and desert landscape of Israel.
I’m sure Daisy Beth misses her family. But she could not go home since she has to finish her work contract in Tel Aviv and perhaps she also could not afford the trip going home. I hope that Daisy Beth feels that she traveled with me vicariously and that I bring her closer to home.
Heavy fog suddenly covered the entire Loo valley by the time I finished my meeting with the elders. So I did not get to see the entire valley since we have to go catch the last bus back to the main town.
Like Daisy Beth, I already miss Buguias. I plan to be back.
The next five posts will be about my trip to the Philippines and to Hong Kong in January 2011.
On January 10, 2011, I went to Iligan City, Mindanao Island, Philippines and visited the Iligan City Central Elementary School. The elementary school is one of the largest elementary school in town and has a student population of close to 5,000 students! The student population is composed of a mixture of Christian and Muslim students.
The Bayanihan Foundation is partnering with the Rotary Club of Iligan South and the Rotary Club of Chicago Far North to refurbish the elementary school’s library that probably has not been updated since 1952.
I visited the classroom of Aura Gutierrez and she was ecstatic to hear that we were planning to donate books to the library. She pleaded that perhaps we could donate some workbooks for her class of kindergarten students. She showed one work book that entire classroom shares and she had to pay for it herself! Imagine 300 kindergarten students sharing one book. No, this is not a joke!
Filipino diaspora donors have also planned to chip in and help refurbish the library including Barbara Alban, Mike Saavedra and Helen Tulen of the Iliganon Association of the Midwest.
The elementary school principal, Vivian Santiago explained that the overcrowded school has 30 classrooms but it’s shared by almost 5,000 students. They have to schedule three shifts everyday. The first shift starts at 5:30 AM; the second shift starts at 12 PM; and the night starts at 4 PM.
I know the books that the foundation’s partners will be donating to the Iligan City Central Elementary School will make an impact in the students’ lives. However, we are only helping one library and there must thousands of schools who are overcrowded and do not have the basic tools to help students learn like workbooks.
By January 2011, the Bayanihan Foundation will support project partnerships benefiting Filipinos in the Philippines, in Israel and in the US. The foundation encourages partnerships between Filipinos living in the diaspora with the Filipinos living in the homeland. They have a tremendous potential to give to long-term development and sustainability when both sides work together.
What is diaspora and homeland partnership?
It’s more than just giving money. It’s a long-term partnership between both sides for sustainable development. The foundation plans to offer potential matching funds, capacity building, youth leadership development, advocacy and promotion of return migration.
By December 2011, the foundation plans to have 20 diaspora partnerships in place.
What is diaspora?
Diaspora is the movement or migration of a group of people, such as those sharing a national identity, away from an ancestral homeland.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR PARTNERSHIPS:
Stay tune for twelve more partnerships by year-end 2011!
Interested in becoming a partner?
You are invited to join the Bayanihan Foundation’s upcoming Pagbabalik (Coming Home) 2011: US-Philippines Diaspora Partnership WORKSHOP. It will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2011 – 7 AM till 5 PM at Adamson University, 900 Marcelino St. Manila, Philippines.
In this workshop, you will:
This workshop requires advanced registration. You can register by contacting Myrla Baldonado by email myrla@fdnbayanihan.org or by phone 09199252034.
You can also register online by clicking here. I hope you could join us!
Thank you to all supporters of the Bayanihan Foundation’s successful launch and fundraiser last October 24, 2010. Take a look at the video recap:
Congratulations to the winners of the raffle drawing:
Eugene David of Chicago – Grand prize winner of one economy round trip ticket to Manila, Philippines
Emerita Bernales of Chicago – 2nd prize winner of one 32″ flat screen TV
Karla Tipay of Chicago – 3rd prize winner of a set of travel luggage
You are invited to the Bayanihan Foundation’s upcoming Pagbabalik (Coming Home) 2011: US-Philippines Diaspora Partnership WORKSHOP on January 22, 2011 at Adamson University, Manila, Philippines. Please contact Dale Asis for more info.
In 2008, I worked for the Chicago Global Donors Network (CGDN) and during my tenure there I organized over 150 diaspora groups and donors in Chicago that donated to over 50 countries worldwide. I had a wonderful experience meeting so many groups that wanted to help back in their homeland. I felt sad to learn the demise of CGDN. I’m re-posting the blog entry from Dien Yuen of Give2Asia:
I received an email from the Board of Directors of the Chicago Global Donors Network (CGDN) which brought sad news to the global philanthropic community. After seven years of operations, CGDN will be conducting a major restructuring of the organization and they will let go their staff. In addition, they will not be holding their annual conference planned for this fall.
Like many organizations, we are faced with the growing pressures of a decrease in operating support and a reduction in corporate and foundation sponsorships.
CGDN was founded in the 2003 by Marjorie Benton and Adele Simmons, active international philanthropists. Over the years the organization has held numerous events and attracted sizeable audiences. CGDN has over 1,100 individuals, foundations, and corporations in its network. So what will happen to CGDN?
…our board of directors strongly believes in the continued need for and importance of the services and expertise embodied in CGDN. We are actively pursuing arrangements to align our resources in order to continue delivering the high quality content that donors have come to trust.
In a time when global philanthropy is growing (6.2% increase according to GivingUSA 2009) and demand for information is increasing, it will be a shame to lose CGDN as a resource. I spoke at one of their events in 2008 and I met a great group of colleagues. I think there is a need for groups like this in the field and there are lots of opportunities for CGDN to remake itself. I look forward to seeing CGDN 2.0.
Ate Lolit Lledo of the Pilipino Workers Center shared this incredible story of a Filipino, homeless and undocumented. Despite his circumstances, he continues to be hopeful and generous. He continues to give to an orphanage in the Philippines, the orphanage that raised him when he was a child.
May this story inspires us all as we seek our own paths to help and give.
On September 18, 2010, The New York Times article recently published an article “Toiling Far From Home for Philippine Dreams”, easily becoming one of the most emailed stories that weekend. The reporter, Norimitsu Onishi writes compellingly about the dreams of overseas Filipino workers and their shortcomings as they build a better life for their families left behind.
I agree on three key points that the article mentioned. However, the article didn’t mention the growing donations and community giving that many overseas Filipino workers are conducting. I lament such gross omission that the article largely missed its mark.
Three Key Points that Were Right On the Mark:
1. Philippine government unhealthy dependence on remittances and calling overseas Filipino workers “heroes”.
It’s ridiculous that the Philippine government continues to call overseas Filipino workers “heroes”. The façade of heroism hides the ugly reality, risks and dangers that many Filipino workers face as they seek employment abroad. In the end, being called “heroes” becomes another marketing ploy to continue promoting workers to leave.
2. The Philippine government has an unhealthy dependence on remittances
Migration and promoting overseas employment is not a sustainable enterprise. In fact, 30 years of sending out workers abroad has not made the Philippines prosper much (Opiniano, Diaspora Philanthropy by Filipinos, 2005). Remittances has saved the Philippines from dire economic straits and postponed the government to carry out much-needed economic and social reforms.
3. There are no jobs in the Philippines. The Philippine National Statistics Office plays a shell game with their unemployment numbers. In July 2010, they happily reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 6.9% (Manila Bulletin). However, they also included a second group, the labor force participation rate of 64.6% which I think tells the true unemployment rate of 35.4% (Philippine National Statistics Office).
One Gross Omission of the Article – failure to mention the community donations of overseas Filipinos
The New York Times article omits the growing numbers of Filipinos overseas who help their communities beyond acquiring two-story homes, flat screen TVs and private education for their children. In fact, from 1999-2003, they contributed over $218 million to community projects beyond remittances and gifts to their immediate families (Opiniano, Diaspora Philanthropy by Filipinos, 2005).
Filipino overseas workers have funded wells, provided community scholarships and organized medical missions to their hometowns, among other endeavors. Filipinos anchor their giving to the traditional values of community or ‘bayanihan’.