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One stop agency to help Filipinos get ready for Canada
A partnership agreement to facilitate resettlement of Filipino emigrants headed for Canada was recently forged between Banco de Oro and the Multicultural Helping House Society (MHHS)-Newcomer Resource Centre, a Vancouver-based organization.
Supported by Canadian Federal, Provincial and Municipal government grants. BDO, a full-service universal bank in the Philippines, donated office space at the corner of A. Mabini and Padre Faura Streets in Manila to serve as the main center of operations in the Philippines of the MHHS.
Their pre-departure services for Canadian visa holders cover a wide range of information about life in Canada and its culture, people, language, education, government, healthcare, social and banking systems, regulatory procedures, financial literacy, professional certification processes, pre-employment preparation, pre-arrival house reservation and arranged meet-and-greet upon arrival at the airport and other vital information drawn from first-hand experiences of Fil-Canadian staff based in the Philippines.
Tomas Avendano, a Vancouver-based Fil-Canadian and long-time immigrant said the MHHS-NRC is a registered non-profit society and charitable organization dedicated to servicing the needs of newcomers to Canada. Under a “one-stop shop” concept, it has provided assistance to thousands of new immigrants in addressing their needs from settlement, employment, temporary housing, social services, skills enhancement, housing, legal assistance, and education services.
Popularly known as “Tatay Tom,” the 86-year old Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient and 2012 Presidential Awardee, Avendano, observed that the growing numbers of Filipino emigrants, the third largest minority group in Canada, do not necessarily enter via Vancouver where the original Filipino Canadian Support Services Society (FCSSS) was established in 1996.
Hence, the innovative move to provide the much-needed Manila-based orientation even before their arrival to minimize resettlement challenges in Canada’s far-flung and diverse regions spanning the North American mainland. The MHHS services are intended to supplement the services being given to those emigrants who are required to register at the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.
The inauguration of the MHHS facility was attended by Canadian Ambassador Christopher Thornley.
For further information, prospective emigrants and families may contact: telephone no. (632) 521 0094, or email at [email protected]. You may visit their website: www.helpinghouse.org.
The opening of the facility comes in the wake of reports that The Philippines is the third top country sending migrants abroad, according to a report from International Organization on Migration.
Filipinos make up 3.1 percent the total population of migrants worldwide, according to said report which was presented by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) during a press briefing in Cebu.
CFO Cebu Extension Office Supervising Emigrant Services Officer Aileen Macapili said that as of 2011, there are 10,455,788 overseas Filipinos.
The top 10 destination countries of the Filipino permanent migrants are United States of America, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Austria.
Filipino immigrants from Central Visayas reached 91,000 between 1998 to 2012.
Of the total, 71,000 are from Cebu.
Cebu also holds the biggest number of Filipinos married to foreigners, followed by Negros Oriental, Bohol, and Siquijor.
Macapili said most reasons why Filipinos migrated are to seek better opportunities, higher standard of living abroad, to acquire small business, for professional growth, higher wages, and exposure to different cultures.
“However, if there are benefits to migrating, there are also costs to it,” she warned.
CFO identified the negative results to migration as the breakdown of family ties and values, isolation, exploitation, illegal recruitment, discrimination in the workplace, and health issues, among others.
CFO is a government agency tasked to promote and uphold the interests of Filipino emigrants and permanent residents abroad.
The press briefing in Cebu City was part of the commission’s annual community education program (CEP) to raise awareness on issues concerning migration, intermarriage, and government efforts against illegal recruitment, documentation fraud, and human trafficking.
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