KBKN NorCal --> the Philippines

This year, members from the Bay Area representing different community based organzations (Pilipino Ammerican Student Union, Anakbayan East Bay and Silcon Valley, League of Filipino Students SFSU, Asian Pacific American Leaders United will be partnering with Kapit Bisig Kabataan Network (KBKN) to help rehabilition work in the central and southern parts of the Philippines.
What is KBKN?

Kapit Bisig Kabataan means “Youth Link Arms” in Tagalog. It is a national Filipino American youth and student­ led relief network built in response to Typhoon Haiyan and future disasters.

Our mission is to support survivors of calamities in the Philippines by raising funds, organizing relief and rehabilitation missions, and advocating for long­ term solutions to improve disaster preparedness.

Our vision is to unite and empower Filipino youth and students across the US to engage in grassroots relief and long­term rehabilitation efforts for communities affected by natural disasters in the Philippines. We advocate for systemic changes that prioritize the protection of people’s lives and livelihood in relationship to their environment.

Your Contribution

Donations to the KBKN missioners go towards the $500 program fee, which covers food, lodging, transportation of the entire trip. KBKN missioners also give community donations to the families and villages who host the missioners during their stay. KBKN missioners also pay a conference fee for the North American ­Philippine Solidarity Affair (NAPSA), a conference advocating for Ecological Justice and Human Rights. KBKN missioners also need to raise funds for a plane ticket and travel supplies (clothes, backpack, toiletries).

After securing the fundamental costs of the KBKN mission trip, additional donations to KBKN fund immediate material goods (i.e. food, water, clothing, medical supplies), help build schools, fund children’s
educational expenses, pay teachers’ humble salaries, and supplies relevant to rebuilding the livelihood of typhoon survivors (i.e. for buying farm seeds, farm tools, hand tractors, GI sheets, construction materials for homes, rice, canned goods, fish, water, etc).

Meet our Missioners

Katherine:

My name is Katherine Nasol and I am currently a senior studying at Stanford University. I am also the Kababayan Political Co-Chair of Stanford’s Pilipino American Student Union and a member of Anakbayan Silicon Valley. 
As a Filipina-American community organizer, it has been heart-wrenching to see the effects of environmental disasters on both the local and global community. My friends have struggled with families losing their homes in the storm. Migrant workers I have grown close to have been forced to migrate from their families in Tacloban. Government corruption and foreign intervention have aggravated wealth inequalities and neglected those most in need of basic resources.
As a future lawyer and educator, the trip is an opportunity to learn about how law and education affect people's personal experiences. From building relationships with the people themselves, I hope to understand how communities use law and education as tools for not only rebuilding but for revolutionary change.

Jacqueline:

I'm Jacqueline Ramos, a freshman at Stanford University. 
PASU was my first home when I came to the university. Stanford, which is about 2,000 miles away from my Nashville home, was beautiful to me when I first visited, but it wasn't as beautiful as it is now until I met the students of the Pilipino American Student Union (PASU), my new pamilya. So I joined this wonderful student group as a Kayu Frosh Intern, helping preserve, spread, and showcase our culture through dance. Though I was exposed to Filipino culture before, it was amazing to connect even more to my roots with people who were just as passionate about the Philippines as me. Now, I want to be more involved, knowing about how strong Filipinos are in the face of struggle prolonged by administrative exploitation. This mission is a way that I and other passionate Filipinos and Filipino Americans can be a positive force for our family back home. Donating any amount is a way for you to help our cause.
Though the typhoon hit over a year ago, the people are still there. They need your support. Isang Bagsak!

Amiel:

I'm Amiel Paz, a student at Stanford University, an intern for PASU's Kababayan committee, and a member of Anakbayan Silicon Valley. I'm majoring in Computer Science for pre-med. But at my core, I am deeply devoted to the country of my birth - the Philippines. Growing up and having lived there a few years, I had no notion of poverty or any idea of growing up in a third-world country. Both then and now, I know that what the Philippines is, is a beautiful vast land, rich in natural resources and people of intellect and talent. But I realize also that it is not a luxurious place to live in. And what recent natural disasters as Haiyan had made clear, is that her people suffer unduly from lack of aid and proper governmental care. For me, going back to the Philippines means becoming fully conscious of the true state of life for many Filipinos, and accepting the responsibility of giving of giving back to a country which had given me my pride and identity.

Alexa: 

I am a queer mixed-Pilipin@ born to working-class migrants in Vallejo, raised in my hometown and across the East Bay. My economic work as Coordinator for the Center for Political Education and Spanish Language Advocate & Interpreter for Asian Women's Shelter empower me to draw connections between state and interpersonal (especially gender-based) violence and help make education accessible to all, especially working class people of color. I organize with Anakbayan-East Bay and #Asians4BlackLives, and humbly consider the People of Color Sangha at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland my spiritual home. My intentions for this trip back home to one of the motherlands are political, spiritual, personal. I will support and learn from grassroots organizers and first responders who have much less resources than we do in the overdeveloped world, how to utilize our tools and relationships outside of the state. I am grateful for this opportunity to integrate with the masses, particularly the women’s sector, and learn about how they collaborate with the worker’s sector and anti-militarism groups. I look forward to getting insight into recruiting and organizing poor and working class youth—how to build leadership and center them in our analyses and organizing, especially with culturally relevant and trauma-informed approaches.

Joal:

Hi, my name is Joal Truong-Vargas. In 2005, I was able to partake in a life changing experience, embarking on an exposure trip with my college organization League of Filipino Students. For a whole month, we integrated with various community organizations ranging from the like of women, to youth and students, to peasant farmers, to urban poor communities. The relationships we’ve built and stories they’ve shared still remain with me to this day. Now, ten years later, I (alongside nine other companions) plan to embark on another trip to the Philippines, primarily to engage in relief and rehabilitation work in communities devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. We plan to help in socio psychological activities with displaced children, medical support and rebuilding work. In addition, we also plan to learn and build with the people there in hopes to bring their stories and experiences to our communities in the United States upon our return. With your contribution, our team will be able to make the costly flight to the Philippines and financially support the kind and welcoming communities that will host us for our three-week stay. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

Amy:

Hello! My name is Amy Truong-Vargas and I am a member of Laya Migrant Youth for Change and Action in Daly City. Laya is a grassroots organization with a mission to uphold the rights and welfare of migrant/immigrant families. I am also an elementary school teacher in Daly City where almost 40% of our student population is Filipino. I am extremely excited and fortunate to participate this summer in an exposure trip to integrate with communities in the Philippines, particularly those most affected by recent typhoon calamities. I look forward to learning and participating in the relief and genuine rehabilitation efforts by locals and fellow organizers. I am also eager to witness the natural beauty of the Philippines, experience first-hand the culture and current conditions, and work alongside with people of great strength, resilience and love for their homeland.

Jeannel:

Hello! My name is Jeannel Poyaoan. I am a student at San Francisco State University and a member of the League of Filipino Students, the Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor and Kappa Psi Epsilon. My involvement with these student organizations and other community orgs helped me develop one of my main purposes in life: to Serve the People. To me, serving the people is understanding the conditions of the community and proactively working with them towards economic, environmental, political and social progress; participating in typhoon relief work during the KBKN mission is an important way to do just that. Throughout the mission, my kasamas and I will be conducting typhoon relief work in the most devastated areas of the Philippines that are still lacking relief and rehabilitation support. We will be living with these communities to build with and learn from them. This is an important step in mitigating the economic, social, political and environmental difficulties caused by poor governmental assistance, climate change, and poverty. After the trip, I will: 1) bring back my experiences by holding report backs, 2) continue community organizing for relief efforts, and 3) build and maintain bridges to the homeland. Your contribution is vital to our ability in participating in this mission, and ultimately, the liberation of the people. Any amount helps! Thank you so much for your time, consideration and support.

Christian:

Yo, so I was born in the Philippines, but America has been my home for the last decade. This summer, I'm hoping to develop a better understanding of the Philippines in order to better understand myself. I identify with being Filipino American—since I have lived in both countries—but I still have a lot to learn about my birthplace. I've volunteered with Filipino organizations around the Bay Area, and I believe that with a conscious effort to look back at the Philippines with a critical eye, we can also improve our lives here. So please support me and these other good people as we try to go back home.

Eliza: 

My name is Eliza Galimba and I am currently a student at City College of San Francisco. I am studying to become an engineer. I am part of APALU (Asian Pacific American Leaders United), a group in CCSF that helps Asian American students become effective leaders that can aid communities. I was lucky enough to be able to live in the Philippines for 5 years while being able to fully connect with my roots. During my stay there, I was able to see first hand how hard it is for underserved people to live. I soon realized that I had to be more aware of my privileges and use it as a tool to help others. With the KBKN mission trip, I can be able to go back home and get more involved with helping the community. I want to be able to get to know local people and their stories. I want to be empowered by the people because Pilipinos are resilient. I hope that after this trip, I will be able to grow as a better individual and leader.

Keziah:

Hello, my name is Keziah David. This summer, I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to join nine other amazing individuals from the Bay Area on an exposure trip to the Philippines organized by the Kapit Bisig Kabataan Network. On a personal level, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to learn as much as I can about the Philippines from various community members and local organizations. Although I was born in the Philippines, and lived there for most of my childhood, I recognize that there is so much more for me to learn and discover. Being from central Luzon, I can not wait to immerse myself in the diverse culture and people of other regions like Visayas and Mindanao. As an educator and a youth organizer, I am looking forward to interacting with the youth in the communities we will visit. I can not wait to hear what they have to say about their lives, community and especially their schools. Above all else, I am most looking forward to visiting the areas that were devastated by Typhoon Haiyan and to contribute as much as I can towards the rehabilitation of the area and the people. I would like to thank you in advance for your contribution towards this amazing trip, any amount will help to connect the stories of people in the Philippines with our stories as individuals and as a collective. It is our hope to come home from this trip and share our experience and our collective narrative with the larger Bay Area community and beyond.