“Nanay Adeling has always been someone FCC can count on. She is very reliable which encourages us to continue our work.  She has a charming personality and is just someone great to have as a part of the community.”- Mario deMira, FCC staff

“She is someone who’s been through a lot coming from the Philippines. She continues to support her family and recently joined the FCC and the community to fight for immigrants and workers’ rights. She also has the best arroz caldo!” – Terry Valen, FCC Director

As Nanay Adeling opened her gate for Lyra and I, I felt a welcoming presence because of the way she smiled. She is a small lady, about 5’0 with short curly hair.  Although I’ve never met her before, I could tell she was very bold and outgoing. She greeted us with a big smile across her face and led us into her home. As I entered the living room, I saw three Santo Niño’s on a shelf and another one on top of her TV. There were also many pictures of her family on a table to the right of the room. She offered us to sit down so we could start the interview.

Adelaida Malihan was born on December 16, 1936. She is a loving mother of three children named Arlene, Bernie, and Clifford. In the Philippines she resided in Lucban, Quezon. Lucban is a small province which is known for Mt. Banahaw de Lucban. She said, “Instead of lava spouting out of the volcano, it was water.  When it rained, the water that streamed down the mountains looked like waterfalls.”

In 1972, she followed her husband to the U.S. She wanted a change of environment and a better paying job. When she first came here she had a difficult time finding work. Then after two month she became pregnant and was not able to work until her newborn got older. Eventually she finally found work as a house keeper at Holiday Inn. For over fifteen year Nanay Adeling worked as a house keeper at different places until her husband passed away when she retired.

In 2010 Nanay Adeling was introduced to the Filipino Community Center (FCC). One of the FCC volunteers, Tita Aurora met her at Macy’s and asked her to come for ballroom dancing. Ever since then, she has stayed active and eventually joined SAMAKA an organization of Filipino women.

Nanay Adeling said she joined SAMAKA because, “It fought against discrimination of women and stood for women’s empowerment. SAMAKA recognized that women play a big role in the family. For example, women are usually the ones taking care of all the kids, cooking food, and providing a lot of the support to make sure everything is going well. Women are the king of the household. They hold everything down for their family.”

As a vibrant member of the community, she took part in rallies for caregivers and education, and went to Sacramento for the domestic workers bill of rights. Now she is currently a part of the Caregiver Project and regularly attends Talakayan, FCC’s monthly community gathering. What really motivates her to continue coming to the FCC is being able to interact with other people and get involved with other programs.

Nanay Adeling says the biggest moment for her was when she got interviewed by Henni Espinoza of ABS-CBN. She did not understand why Henni wanted to interview someone as old as her when she could talk to someone a lot younger. She felt the privilege to talk with Henni but had no idea she was going to be on TV. She was in shock when her friends told her she was an actress.

Nanay Adeling contributes a lot to the FCC, and is a great example of how anyone at any age can be involved in bettering our communities. Mabuhay si Nanay Adeling, TNT ng FCC!

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This article was authored by Recy Flores, a sophomore at Balboa High School interning at the FCC. Recy has been a part of the FCC programs for three years and continues to work with Kabataan, FCC’s youth leadership program.

For Immediate Release
May 1, 2012

 
Contact: Terry Valen NAFCON President
info@nafconusa.org / 415.333.6267

For Filipinos in the U.S. immigrant rights is an important issue. Filipinos relate to the issue for various reasons. Many do because they have waited over a decade to be united with their loved one(s) hoping for petition(s) to be approved. For others, it is also important because they need legal status to live without the fear of being deported as they survive day to day, living in the shadows. Despite the undeniable importance of immigrant rights to the over four million Filipinos in the U.S., our community lacks a strong united voice in regards to the issue.

That is why On May 1^st, International Workers Day, the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) launches the Pulso ng ating mga Kababayan (Pulse of the People) education and research campaign. NAFCON’s objectives for the campaign are to share with the larger community NAFCON’s many educational resources and analysis dealing with immigrant rights as well as to learn more about the thoughts and experiences of Filipinos by conducting a nation-wide survey. Both the resources and the survey can be found on the alliance’s website.

“NAFCON chose International Workers Day to launch this project because Filipino immigrants are one of the most undervalued and exploited groups of workers in the U.S. So on May 1^st, the day when workers and migrants worldwide celebrate and advocate for their right to a dignified workplace and decent working conditions, NAFCON honors and highlights Filipino immigrants in the U.S.!” says Terry Valen, President of NAFCON.

Since its founding in 2003, NAFCON has defended the rights and welfare of Filipinos in the U.S. understanding that immigration is a major concern for our families and community. As part of its campaign, NAFCON hopes to educate the community about several concerns. One is the key role the Philippine government should play in advocating for changes in U.S. laws to better protect Filipino immigrants. Another is the need for the Philippine government to deal with the issue of forced migration by changing its own policies around labor export and economic development.

“Most Filipinos don’t want to leave the Philippines to find work because they do not want to leave their families and face horrible working conditions abroad. But the government prioritizes sending Filipinos overseas when it should prioritize creating jobs and livelihood at home by reforming its laws around land and using the nation’s wealth to industrialize,” continues Valen.

As part of its campaign launch, NAFCON gathers on May 1st in various cities throughout the U.S. calling to End forced migration/Create jobs in the Philippines! Stop the illegalization of Im/migrants! End Human Trafficking! And for Family Reunification!  To join NAFCON on May 1^st, learn more about our work, or participate in the survey, please visit our website at www.nafconusa.org or contact one of NAFCON’s regional representatives.###

Contact Information for NAFCON Regional Representatives:

Northeast:      Michelle Saulon          ne@nafconusa.org      (347) 867 – 1550

Midwest:        Nerissa Allegretti        mw@nafconusa.org    (224) 381-6888

Nor Cal:         Angelica Cabande       nc@nafconusa.org      (415) 946 – 9904

So Cal:            Alex Montances          sc@nafconusa.org       (253) 381 – 7444

Northwest:     Freedom Siyam           nw@nafconusa.org     (206) 659 – 1896

To subscribe to NAFCON’s news list please click here.

The FCC invites you, your friends, and family to a showcase of youth talent & knowledge learned from our Kabataan & AYPS programs! We are also presenting FREE programs & services at the FCC!

There will be RAFFLES & PRIZES, and also FREE FOOD!!
So, Please come by and help us build a stronger Filipino Community Family in the Excelsior!
We hope to see you there!

Directions: from new FCC to old FCC
http://g.co/maps/vqqgt

The section focusing on Filipinos starts 10 minutes into the show.

San Francisco, CA—

On April 4, the community researchers culminated their training through a commencement that included speeches and certificates from San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos and Supervisor Eric Mar. “This is the kind of power we need to build to see the change we need for our communities,” said Avalos in his opening remarks. Worker organizations, citywide, national and international expressed their congratulatory comments to the CARE Project graduates. National Domestic Workers Association speaker, Guillermina Castellanos, expressed her deep appreciation for workers putting the time aside to organize and speak for themselves. Pam Tau Lee for the Bay Area Care Council commented on the exciting possibilities of the research that is yet to be undertaken as it could move legislation to protect caregivers forward.

Other Filipino migrant worker organizations like PAWIS from the South Bay and East Bay sent speakers who stated their support for the CARE Project in hopes that they can replicate similar initiatives in their own areas. Kabalikat Domestic Worker Support Network from New York City and MIGRANTE International from Manila, Philippines also sent videos of solidarity urging caregivers and community members of the CARE Project to keep their momentum going.

The night culminated with Supervisor Mar delivering certificates alongside Mario De Mira, a CARE Project Coordinator, Dr. Valerie Francisco of University of San Francisco and Dr. Robyn Rodriguez of UC Davis who are partners in the research project. A caregiver who will be called, S, gave a moving acceptance speech that recounted his story of hopelessness as he was a victim of wage theft in his job as a caregiver. S noted that the CARE Project renewed his faith in community efforts and collective strength to change the lives and conditions of caregivers. S stated, “In my place of darkness, I not only found a light in the CARE Project, but a family, friends, and people who are willing to fight for what’s right.”

The CARE Project commencement also doubled as the launch of the research portion of the project. In the coming months, the trained community researchers will begin collecting both qualitative and quantitative data about caregivers’ workplace conditions in the Bay Area. The CARE Project is conducted in collaboration of the Filipino Community Center (FCC), the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, and GABRIELA USA.

The research will be conducted over the summer through various events at the FCC and mobile outreach efforts to important Filipino institutions.  If you want to contribute your experience as a caregiver, please contact Mario de Mira at 415-333-6267 and mario@filipinocc.org.

· Saturday March 10th @ Stanford University

· Theme: “Kababayan, Kabataan, Kumilos” (Community and Youth, Take Action!)

Activities include: workshops, speakers, performances, and community organizations.

If you are interested in going, please register @ http://www.sandiwa.org/?page_id=222 by MARCH 1st!

Youth & student organizations:

· Pilipino American Student Union (PASU) of Stanford University

· League of Filipino Students (LFS) of San Francisco State University

· Active Leadership to Advance the Youth (ALAY) in San Francisco

· Filipino Youth Coalition (FYC) in San Jose

· Pagkabata in San Jose

· Anakbayan Silicon Valley