CONSUL GENERAL FERRER GRACES GRADUATION OF UPAASF CULTURAL IMMERSION SUMMER CAMP
Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer delivers his remarks during the graduation ceremony of the UP Alumni Association of San Francisco (UPAASF) Cultural Immersion Summer Camp at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Dublin, California on 5 August 2022. (San Francisco PCG photo)
DUBLIN, CALIFORNIA, USA – Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer keynoted the graduation rites of the Cultural Immersion Summer Camp of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of San Francisco (UPAASF) at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Dublin, California on 5 August 2022.
In his remarks, Consul General Ferrer congratulated the graduates, comprising 37 second-generation Filipino American children aged six to 14 years old.
“I hope that your experience in this summer camp has brought you closer to your parents’ country of birth, and has made you proud to be a Filipino. Never forget that the Filipino blood runs through your veins, and that you have a home to come to in the Philippines,” Consul General Ferrer said.
Consul General Ferrer took the opportunity to thank the parents of the summer camp graduates for allowing their children to learn more about Philippine culture and way of life. With the summer camp’s conclusion, the Philippine Consul General encouraged the parents to engage in other activities that will “help widen and deepen their children’s Filipino roots as they are growing up here in the United States.”
“Teach your children our time-honored values such as pakikipagkapwa and bayanihan… Bring them to restaurants, food trucks or events that offer authentic Filipino food recipes… Buy them Philippine-made products from supermarkets or online shopping apps… Enroll them in Filipino language courses,” Consul General Ferrer said. He added that it would be best if they could travel together to the Philippines especially now that the country has reopened its borders to international tourism.
Consul General Ferrer also thanked the UPAASF for initiating programs that “foster love for Philippine culture and heritage among younger generations, many of whom only know about Philippines from the stories and memories of their nanay and tatay, or their lola and lolo.”
The Philippine Consul General added: “The efforts of organizations such as yours are important, for they give young Filipinos and Filipino Americans the opportunity to discover their identity as Filipinos and cultivate a deep sense of community in them.”
As part of the graduation program, the Filipino American children sang the Philippine National Anthem and the Filipino version of the Lord’s prayer, and performed the Filipino folk dance “tinikling”, to the delight of the audience.
This year’s UPAASF summer camp is the second consecutive year that it was held at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Dublin, located in the so-called “East Bay” of the San Francisco Bay Area. Previous editions of the summer camp were held around the Bay Area such as in San Francisco, Daly City (“Peninsula”), and Santa Clara (“South Bay”).
Now on its ninth year, the UPAASF Cultural Immersion Summer Camp offers young Filipino Americans with lectures on Philippine history and the Filipino language, workshops on Philippine music, dance and art, and other interactive activities such as baybayin writing exercises and Filipino food eating.
The Consulate has been a partner of the UPAASF in the conduct of the annual summer camp, particularly during the participants’ field trips to the Consulate. The summer campers on 3 August 2022 visited the Consulate, where they immersed themselves on Philippine history, food, and tourism spots. END
Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer joins University of the Philippines Alumni Association of San Francisco (UPAASF) President Liza Gino, and UPAASF Summer Camp Directors Candy Bandong and Tanya Cruz Duldulao in the awarding of certificates to the graduates, at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Dublin, California on 5 August 2022. (San Francisco PCG photo)
The young Filipino American participants of the UP Alumni Association of San Francisco (UPAASF) Cultural Immersion Summer Camp perform the Filipino folk dance “tinikling” as part of their graduation at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Dublin, California on 5 August 2022. Also seen in the photo are Filipino-inspired parols (Christmas star lanterns) that the children created during the summer camp. (San Francisco PCG photo)