FANHS is sponsoring an event to promote the book on Filipinos in San Diego.
August 20th @ the Malcolm X Library @ 12:30 PM. Refreshments will be served. Arcadia, the publisher has just about sold out of the 1st printing.
A four year old child named Adrian, my wife’s nephew living in the Philippines, is in desperate need of a $12,000 operation to survive the complications of Hydrocephalus and a botched operation where a shunt that was inserted into his head to drain the fluid broke and wrapped around his brain resulting in blindness and tremors. The family is destitute and desperate.
In an attempt to raise the necessary funds, I’ve put together a website which provides further description, pictures, video and a donation button using PayPal: adrianoperation.com/
We realize that we’re strangers, not a non-profit and there’s no guarantee we can possibly give that is foolproof and convincing that your money will go to Adrian’s operation. It’s only the desperate plight of this child that forces us to take action in spite of those drawbacks and provide this life-saving operation. Please consider taking a chance. For our part, we will keep you informed of our fund-raising efforts and his condition.
Thank You and Warmest Regards,
Jeff & Rea (Torato) Simmons
email: jefs999@gmail.com
Please email me if you want to be part of a list of Filipino clubs I am compiling. I get many inquiries about how to participate in the community and would like to have this information handy, in one place and this website can serve this purpose for community events.
Do you like making a difference in your
community? If so take a look at the following opportunity to participate in a
market research study- Let’s make a difference in our community!
The Fair Housing Council of San Diego is seeking volunteers as housing researchers. Please click on the link below. All details are included in this flyer:
FHCSD-HDS Researcher Recruitment Flyer
I was privileged to stay for an extended visit to London. For those of you planning to be there next year during the Olympics you can also get your fill of turo-turo joints in Earl’s Court just as we are able to do here (so fortunately) in San Diego. The tube station is just across several Pinoy stores and buffet places where you can get a hearty meal for 8 pounds.
Someday perhaps Manila will have as good a transit system as London does. As good a housing policy as well. And not only Manila but Cebu, Davao, Baguio and our major towns and cities as well.
And so we quote Emily Dickinson:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune–without the words,
And never stops at all.
I got a notice from Jenny C from the House of Blues:
We are promoting a show with premiere Filipino American comedian Rex Navarette at the House of Blues, San Diego on May 20th. Would love to post this information on your site:
Rex Navarrete
House of Blues San Diego
San Diego, CA
Fri, May 20, 2011 07:00 PM
http://www.livenation.com/event/0A00466A26C530B4
Let us support Rex!!!!!
The 3rd Annual All High School Filipina/o Graduation to Celebrate the Class of 2011
Contact:
Lily Prijoles, HS FilGrad Committee 2011
Email:
hsfilgradSD@gmail.com
San Diego, CA –Kuya Ate Mentorship Program (KAMP), Kalusugan Community Services
(KCS) and Filipino American Educators Association of San Diego (FILAMEDA) will be hosting
on Sunday, May 22, 2011 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Centro Cultural de la Raza
in Balboa Park.
With a large community of Filipina/o Americans in San Diego, it is important we take the time
to celebrate the successes of our youth. This celebration is an opportunity for the
community to recognize the achievements of all San Diego High School Filipina/o graduating
seniors by showing and giving them support.
3rd Annual All High School Filipina/o Graduation (HS FilGrad). The celebration will
“…I feel honored to have been a part of it (FilGrad)…” Maria Lea Reyes Rayo, Filgrad class of 2010.
For the past two years, KAMP and FILAMEDA have been coordinating this event for the
graduates. This year we welcome a new fiscal sponsor, Kalusugan Community Services
(KCS). KCS has continuously provided health programs and workshops for the local
community. We are excited about this new partnership and the shared dedication to our
youth.
If you are interested in participating in the graduation ceremony, schedule a visit to your
school, make a donation, or volunteering for FilGrad 2011 please contact us at
I just received a friend”s plea for support for this issue:
Palawan has 17 key bio diversity sites – which means it is part of the 70% bio diversity sites which are essential for sustaining life in the planet. It has 2 world heritage sites, 8 protected sites. Yet if you see Palawan on the map you will note that it is a very thin island – which is 82% mountain. It means that if the forest gets denuded and the minerals excavated – the tailings seep directly into the sea affecting the coral reefs. The top soil is thin – and the island eco system is fragile.
Mining is not the way to go for Palawan. I have five eco tourism sites wherein the communities involved can now send their children to school, can dream bigger dreams. Mayor Hagedorn in Puerto Princesa has banned mining and logging – and focused on tourism and agriculture. From 2 flights a week, Puerto Princesa now boasts 10 flights a day. His revenues have gone up from several million to several billion.
Mining as an economic path in a magnificent “Last Frontier” is based on a paradigm of economic growth that is myopic and archaic . In this age of climate change and global warming any economic development that does not recognize and revere the web of life should be thrown in the dustbin.
Please please support the ten million signature campaign to Stop Mining in Palawan. The richness of Palawan is the wealth and pride of the country, it is the wealth of the world. Log in to www.no2mininginpala wan.com .. register your vote and please please send it to thousands others. You can also include your household by downloading the form printing it – and faxing it t 4152227 or you can scan it and send it to
signatures@no2mininginpalawan. com. Questions can be sent to signatures@no2mininginpalawan. com.
Please pass on to everyone!!! Thanks!!!
As a former Charger girl, she was a part of an award winning squad as the Charger Girls received the coveted recognition of “Best NFL Dancers” her first year. She also received an award for “Hardest Working Charger Girl”. As a humanitarian, Maharanee is involved with 4everkids.org, which is a non-profit organization that benefits children who are born with birth defects. She is also currently working on a collaboration to form an organization which will benefit shelters for battered women. Her physique as a dancer has kept her in optimal shape and catapulted her modeling career as a bikini model. She is currently the brand ambassador for Pernicious Attire, a world-wide expanding tribal inspired clothing company based in San Diego, California. She is also sponsored by a very edgy and sexy clothing line called BritBoy Fashions as seen in some of her events. As an actress, Maharanee is transitioning and landed a role in her first motion picture film with award winning cast members which is scheduled to be released in 2011.
Due to historic events, millions of Filipinos have left the homeland and assimilated into foreign countries out of necessity and hope of better opportunity. We have worked ourselves into the mental slavery of being a worker and not an owner. Mega Malls have sprouted throughout the Philippines. We are addicted to brands we do not own. We have become consumers, and not investors. We own no world renowned brands. We make other countries richer. We own no banks in America, so we work 10 hours a day, and make monster mortgage payments to banks that do not invest in our local communities or homeland. We have countless regional Filipino Organizations with small visions and weak purposes which contribute to the dilution of the power of a United People.
However, let there be no doubt. The pride is there. Look around. The signs are everywhere, but we are indecisive. We rock Filipino T-Shirts to the point of gaudiness. The cream has already risen to the top. We are Doctors, We are Nurses, We are Scientists, We are Realtors, We are Artists, We are Engineers, We are Authors, and We are modern day indentured servants aboard ships we do not own. We intuitively come together to celebrate the victory of Manny Pacquiao over Antonio Margarito, but we must ask ourselves, “Which race is really leaving behind the legacy for the next generation?” We intuitively want to come together. We’ve United in the past, even if only for a moment. We try again and we continue to fail. We want to be heard. We want to be counted. We want to do something….but we don’t know yet what we want.
–Frederick Duque Aguinaldo
What Is Your Legacy?
Our Time Is Limited
Rick Warren, author of “A Purpose Driven Life”, brings to attention the mortality of our lives in a simple but powerful statement: “The average person only lives 25,550 days.” To put things in perspective, if I assume that I will live to be 70 years old, then that means I only have 13,205 days left. This leads me to ponder, “If my time here on earth is numbered and finite, shouldn’t I stop and think about my purpose in life, even if only for one day?”
I have four children. Their names are Emilio, Ramon, Marius, and last but not least, my youngest child, Labella. Their ages range from 6 to 12 years old. I remember one day listening to my daughter ask my mother, “Lola…where’s the SHOOgar”. I chuckled on the inside and realized that my daughter, a 3rd generation Filipino-American, has a Filipino accent…a gift from my mother resulting from the many days that my mother spent raising Labella. My mind flashes back to memories 25 years ago to the many conversations I had with my Lola. As a result, I am fortunate I can understand about 90% of Tagalog conversations. My mind shifts gears, and fast forwards to the very near future. The realization suddenly dawns upon me – If we continue down our path, then one or two generations from now; absolutely nothing will connect us to the Philippines other than our DNA and our physical features.
In addition to our limited time to act, connecting to the Philippines has an even more complex issue. Many Filipinos also marry into other cultures. This includes my family. More specifically, I have 1st cousins who are half Black, half Irish, half Mexican, and even half Persian. This is not an uncommon story living in the melting pot of America. My family’s story is the story of our nation. We ARE the Nation. We are Americans, but we are also Filipino. Our diversity means that we have to work twice as hard to learn multiple cultures. Although, there are those who think the idea of learning more is too much of a daunting task with today’s learning curve, I challenge the 2nd Generation Filipino-Americans to think back just two generations ago. It was not uncommon for our grandparents to speak many dialects (and even other languages).
My Legacy
A legacy is something that someone is remembered for in history. A more selfless description of a legacy is something that is handed down from one generation to another generation. During my eulogy, I hope my friends and family will remember me as a person who was instrumental in establishing a legacy. I hope they will remember me as a leader and organizer during “the tipping point”. To be more precise and definitive, the phrase “tipping point” meaning the exact time in history when the rare idea and vision of WeAreOneFilipino.com becomes the state of being for the majority of the Filipino race. I hope people remember me for my vision of an extensive, centralized, and transferrable Filipino database – A database which can be handed down, built upon, and updated from one generation to another. Passing the torch will be as easy as entrusting the password to the next database manager who has the same core values. I envision a Filipino Renaissance which will provide the Art and Literature, the means and reasoning in educating future generations on the identity, history, and what it means to truly be Filipino.
Plan of Action
Due to my role, I’ve been attacked by many simply because of my visibility. I have been accused of “Not being Filipino enough”. I have also been told that I do not have the right to claim or be part of the honorable deed of uniting One Filipino. I have even been told that I do not have the genetic “blueprint” to be considered Filipino. These are all statements from sideliners who just don’t “get it”. Furthermore, they do not have the global vision, or the leadership skills to accomplish the monumental task that stands before us.
For those of you that do “get it”, and more importantly have the passion, I encourage you…take the next step towards our unification and empowerment of one global Filipino. Enroll!
Phase One: Wake Up!, Organize!, and Unite!