Jersey Artists, Youth, Students Unite for Typhoon Victims

Jersey Artists, Youth, Students Unite for Typhoon Victims

Jersey City- Filipino youth and student groups, in collaboration with local Filipino artists and musicians, held a benefit concert called The Aftermathlast Friday, November 6, 2009, at the Our Lady of Victories School. The said event was able to successfully raise $2000 for the typhoon victims in the Philippines which will be sent to Tulong Kabataan, a youth-led relief and rehabilitation campaign organized by Kabataan Partylist, Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students (LFS), Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP), National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP) and College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP).

The benefit concert was spearheaded by American Pin@y Organization of the Youth (APOY-HCCC), a fresh and energetic Filipino youth organization at Hudson County Community College. A number of young Filipino bands, artists, musicians and dancers contributed their time and talent to the said benefit event. Kapsula, Higher Ground, Salamanka, Second Verse, Paper June, Inspired, Nothing But Knowledge (NBK), Gessica Pecana, Donny Manuel and Taospuso lit the night with their meaningful performances as hundreds of youth attended the event.

“We chose The Aftermath as the name of our event because what matters most is what you do after the benefit concert. We, from APOY-HCCC, hopes that the aftermath of this event, when you go back to your homes, to your community and to your schools, will be a more concerned, aware and involved Filipino youth not just in disaster reliefs but also with the issues that bear down on our people here in the United States and back home in the Philippines,” said Yves Nibungco, the current Chairperson of APOY-HCCC as he concluded the event with a speech.

Youth “Involvement” and “Patriotism”

After the event, two themes stood out: youth involvement and patriotism. The young Filipino student group aims to encourage more Filipino youth and students to come out and get involved in their community, particularly regarding issues that really affect them. By responding to the current “humanitarian crisis” in the Philippines brought about by the typhoon, APOY-HCCC is hoping that this will send a clear message to other Filipino student groups to become more active in linking up and acting on issues concerning kababayans here and back home.

The Filipino youth and students are powerful forces of change that is slowly awakening to the necessity of their involvement, not just through the relief efforts, but also in actively involving themselves in the shaping of our society,” said Kathleen Dy, a member of Anakbayan NY/NJ, a local progressive Filipino youth group. “The Filipino youth and students have a rich history of social involvement and activisim to draw lessons from, coming from the Katipunan to the Kabataang Makabayan and up to the present.” Ms. Dy added.

“This benefit concert is just the start of a growing Filipino youth and student movement here in Jersey City. We, together with other Filipino youth and student organizations, vow to spark and spread the flame of patriotism among our fellow Filipino youth and students,” Yves Nibungco, Chairperson of APOY-HCCC concluded.

American-Pin@y Organization of the Youth is a new Filipino student organization at Hudson County Community College. It aims to raise cultural and historical awareness among the Filipino youth. It also aims to involve the Filipino youth and students in helping the Filipino community. For more information about APOY-HCCC, email them athcccfilipinoclub@gmail.com

###