From a matter of perspective, 2022 is a challenging year. The world has just come out of a Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic hit in 2020 and the past two years had been stressful for a lot of people especially those in the medical field. Early this year Russia invaded Ukraine! And the war still continues to today. Economically the world is preparing for a recession and stagflation! Food and grocery prices are going up. Gas prices have gone up! We know of people who have been let go from their jobs because of economic reasons. Some for no cause at all. (And surprisingly this is legal in Toronto. Any company can dismiss any employee without due cause.)
Filipinos have very creative ways of dealing with these stressful situations. And these ways make us resilient to these challenges. Human beings by nature are social beings. We gravitate towards building communities. Filipinos are not an exception. So when someone asks to you join them for coffee or tea, or for a potluck lunch, we rarely say 'no'.
Last week Lola Rica Suarez invited us to go to The Filipino Centre Toronto in Scarborough to meet some long-time friends of hers. Her friends from TFC were the ones who welcomed her and her husband, Lolo Mike, when they migrated to Toronto 20 or so years ago. She said that its about time that my wife and I reach out and expand our circle of friends, and share our talents, skills and knowledge to the Filipino community. My family migrated to Toronto 11 years ago, and most of the people we associated with are non-Filipinos. This is just by chance and not by choice because we live in a predominantly Eastern European community. And at work we also worked mostly with non-Filipinos.
We arrived at The Filipino Centre Toronto a few minutes before lunch. We were told it was a potluck so we brought watermelon (pakwan) and bulgogi, which my daughter cooked. We were welcomed in by Lolo Mike. He told me that (Lola) Rica was in the kitchen. As went in the receiving area, the other members of the TFC family came and welcomed us. Everyone was warm and hospitable. We felt that we have known them for a long time. They then gave us a tour of the centre, with our potluck contribution in hand. Mary Ann who was one of the members of TFC told us that they have four tenants. Three have offices in the front part of the property and the fourth one is inside the building. As we moved along, the hallway opened to a spacious well-lit multi-purpose hall which can fit 30-40 people. There was a door to the left of the room and we went through there to another big open space. This is the operations center of The Filipino Centre Toronto. It is an informal space. There are three office tables and three dining tables! Just goes to show how welcoming and hospitable Filipinos are. Hindi puwedeng walang pagkaing pagsasaluhan. (Food should always be ready to be offered and shared.)
Lolo Mike turned to me and said, "Lola Rica is in the kitchen preparing something. She might need your help there." With the watermelon and bulgogi in hand, my daughter and I went to the kitchen to look for Lola Rica.
Lola Rica asked me to prepare Ginataang Pampano which I did while the other ladies of TFC sliced the watermelon.
Guinataang Pampano
- Pampano - 2 pcs. (Cleaned and gutted)
- Gata - 2 cans
- Onions - 1 pc. (Sliced)
- Ginger - 1 - 2 Tbs. (Sliced)
- Green Finger Chile - 2 pcs. (Dropped whole)
- Red Chile (Labuyo) - 2 pcs. (Chopped)
- Pepper
- Fish Sauce (Patis)
- Any green leafy vegetable
Over lunch we talked more about TFC. TFC used to be in Parliament rd. in downtown Toronto and is no less than two years in its current location in Scarborough. TFC is a cultural centre and hub for all things Filipino and Filipino-Canadian. The Centre offers Educational, Recreational, Financial Services, and Employment Networking Programs . Recently, Dental Hygiene and Vaccine Clinics were held at the centre. If you're interested to know more about the programs TFC is offering visit the TFC website.
TFC also has a Filipiñana library which currently houses one of two libraries dedicated to Filipino literature. Aside from this, TFC facilitates events such as the RCJ Outstanding Student Awards in conjunction with other Fil-Can non-profit organizations. The Filipino Centre is also open for hall bookings and volunteering inquiries. Not to forget TFC has a small Filipiñana Exhibit!
It was a good day for us to visit TFC, and to meet and get-to-know the people behind it. If you are a migrant, old or new, and you need a place to call your second home, reach out to The Filipino Centre Toronto.
