I came across a newsletter issued by one of the Filipino organizations in the Greater Toronto Area, with colourful pictures of gatherings at Torres High School, my secondary school alma mater. The pictures featured many alumni from Canada and from the United States attending the graduation exercise this year. I know that several groups from Canada and the United States traveled to the Philippines in the past three years to attend reunions celebrating golden anniversaries of their high school graduation. A number among them had not gone back to the Philippines for a long time. They were among the first and second waves of Filipino mass immigration to North America in the 60’s and 70’s.
The founder of the organization that issued the newsletter, the Filipino Canadian Friendship Society of Canada, is a friend of mine, and we talked about his visits to the Philippines. This friend of mine, Tirso Balatian, is very enthusiastic about the assistance that the Torres High School alumni can give to their alma mater.
Tirso came to Canada in 1973 through the invitation of a relative. He was an engineer and had a good job in the Philippines at that time but the promise of a better future for his children in another land motivated him to try his luck. He came to Canada with three young children.
According to Tirso, there were plenty of jobs during that time. He got employed but was not satisfied in what he was getting. His engineering degree from the Philippines was not accredited in Canada. While working on drafting and design, he took correspondence courses in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning. He became a maintenance supervisor and later on, he got employed in a refinery, through the courses that he took.
Tirso brought his mother to Canada to help him look after his children. All of them completed their studies and are now all well placed. When his children had become financially independent, Tirso decided to retire from employment. It was an early retirement and he was still full of strength and energy. The decided to get involved in community work.
Tirso was one of the founders of the FEATI Alumni Association. Together with other members, the organization has sent assistance to the Philippines.
In his visits to the Philippines, Tirso noted the sad economic conditions of our people. “Alam mo,” he said, naiisip ko, may recession dito sa Canada. Sa Pilipinas laging recession. Ang marami hindi iniisip ang bukas. Basta may kakanin ngayon, bahala na bukas.”
Tirso hopes to change this attitude among the youth who are intelligent and capable. He wants them to work hard for a better future. He hopes to motivate them to pursue a dream of rising from the poverty they are in. He decided he would begin at the place of his roots –at Torres High School.
Tirso started to talk to his friends about his hope of being able to encourage the talented, intelligent and capable students in his alma mater to persist in their dreams of becoming economically independent. He wanted these young men and women to understand that hard work is rewarding by giving them some kinds of awards. His handful of friends joined him in forming the PCFSC with this goal of giving recognition awards to outstanding students at Torres High School. The awards included medallions, certificates and cash gifts to recipients to serve as incentives, to strive and maintain academic excellence.
Tirso represented the PCFSC in awarding the recognition during the graduation ceremony last March 2009. He wished there was more money to give to more outstanding graduates. He feels that recognition from alumni from abroad is a unique gesture of people who have worked very hard in pursuit of a dream.
Tirso wants to instill in the minds of young Filipinos, most especially among the talented, intelligent and capable, that persistence in the pursuit of a goal is very important in order to succeed. It is not enough to be intelligent; one has to utilize that God-given gift through patience and hard work. Filipinos who left their native land had to work hard in strange parts of the world, suffer insecurities and even discrimination, in order to have a better life. The money being sent home to family, other relatives and organizations is hard earned. Many middle-aged Filipino immigrants who were well placed in the Philippines took jobs abroad that are below their qualification and experience, in the hope that the children they brought with them would have a more secured future.
Tirso admits that the goal he has set to accomplish is not an easy one to achieve. He has limited resources and has convinced only a few to share in the expenses for these awards. But he is not ready to give up. The persistence he demonstrated in his own life is his example. He was not contented with the first jobs that he got. He studied to be able to secure a line of employment related to his qualification and work experience. He brought up children who are now financially independent. One is a teacher in Toronto and another is head nurse in the Bahamas.
“There were only five students who got the awards this year,” he commented. I hope PCFSC would be able to give ten awards next year.
Tirso Balitain’s project is indeed laudable. It is hoped that his message would penetrate the minds and hearts of the young Filipinos he is trying to influence to work harder. Tirso is just touching the tip of the iceberg. Lack of persistence is related to low self-reliance, which has been noted by social observers of Filipino character. The tendency to depend on relatives, which in turn is motivated by the feeling of obligation of members of the family who are employed to give support, will never end, unless younger generations become more financially self-sufficient.
It is hoped that Tirso Balitain’s hope behind the PCFSC awards would make a dent in the consciousness of Filipino youth to wake them up and pursue a future where indolence and fatalism are not barriers to surmount.
“Ito ang aking paraan ng pagbibigay ng kaunti sa aking pinagmulan,” Tirso Balitain concluded.