I am writing to share you some of the different activities of the Filipinos in Sweden.
There are about more or less 30 Filipino organizations here and I belong to the three of them namely: Swedish-Filipino Friendship Association in Jönköping, Filipino Global Charity Association (FGCA) and Ugnayang Pilipino (Stockholm, Sweden).
Swedish Filipino Friendship Association in Jönköping
The Swedish Filipino Friendship Association in Jönköping was established in year 2005 and the members are composed of both Filipinos and Swedes who live in Jönköping and nearby areas.We have been doing different activities every year, all for the promotion of the Filipino culture in the form of dances and display of Filipino handmade products.
Promoting friendship among Filipinos here is also one of our purposes. Anyway, we just recently had a Filipino event called Barrio Fiesta which was held at the Ribbagården Hotel, owned and operated by a Filipina named Ms. Mila Dahl.
Honorable Ambassador Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, Philippine Ambassador to Sweden, was the guest of honor who graced the occasion.
Among the activities were the display of oil paintings made by our members: Ms. Maria Johansson and Ms. Rowena Sarinas Bladh, both Filipinas.
In addition to that, we had displays of Filipino handmade products, postcards, and accessories.
We also presented different cultural dances like Carinosa, Polka Bal, Katsudoratan (depicts a royal manner of walking among the Maranao people), Pandanggo sa Ilaw, Salakot and Tinikling among others.
And to top that, a Filipino dinner buffet was served. We also have The Mangyan Project that we are supporting.
Ms. Åsa Fredriksson, and her family (Swedes) is very active in helping the Mangyans in Mindoro. We support the Mangyans in Mindoro by selling their handmade products in Sweden.
Visit our website for more information about us: http://svenskfilippinska.tripod.com/index.html
Filipino Global Charity Association (FGCA)
FGCA was founded by Ms. Alicia Andersson of Umeå, Sweden in 2005. I am the secretary of this association and our purpose is to help some deserving students in the Philippines to get a college education.We have awarded our first scholarship grant to Ms. Glend Mae Gallego who is presently attending a teaching course at HNU (Holy Name University) in Bohol.
Our membership is open to everyone who wants to be of help. We encourage our kind-hearted, blessed and fortunate fellow countrymen to join us and be one of us.
The more members who participate, the more help we can extend to the would be chosen scholar in the next years.
We accept members, donors and sponsors from all over the world. Please visit our website here: www.filipinocharity.org
Ugnayang Pilipino
Ugnayang Pilipino is a Filipino organization based in Stockholm, Sweden headed by Mr. Noli Buhay. With the effort of other Filipino communities in Stockholm and the Philippine Embassy we had the RP-Sweden Friendship Day during the Bazaar in Skansen last August 25 & 26, 2007. This was done in commemoration of the 60 years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Sweden. Among the highlights of the event was the Maskarra Parade performed by the dance group headed by Ms. Ditas Enström.
In addition to dances, we have introduced the Philippine Hilot, the ancient Filipino art of healing. Hilot was performed by Ms. Michelle Fontanilla Quintela, a licensed massage therapist in the Philippines.
I would like to thank you for starting your Pinoy Abroad and Kapuso portions because this is one way of letting us know (Filipinos abroad) what’s going on with each other in the countries where we live.
Although we are in different countries of the world, we are truly Pinoy in our hearts and we would very much like to share our activities to everyone. We are Filipinos and we are proud of it.
Sincerely,
Maria Nenita Frondell
Web Administrator, Swedish Filipino Friendship Association in Jönköping
Secretary, Filipino Global Charity Association
Member, Ugnayang Pilipino
- GMANews.TV