Embracing Truth and Reconciliation: Mabuhay House Society's Ongoing Commitment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2023
Vancouver, BC - The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is a reflection on the legacy of the residential school system and its continued impact on Indigenous communities. It is also a review on the work that has to be done every day of the year.
Mabuhay House Society is a racialized settler organization. Our work in building a provincial Filipino cultural centre requires understanding of the truth and commitment to the reconciliation process.
These lands are where residential schools had prohibited Indigenous children from connecting with their cultures, languages, and heritage. We know how culture is essential to our wellness — as individuals and as a community — and how colonization violently affects this.
Supporting Indigenous effort through Indigenous arts, cultures, and education is a vital and reciprocal part in building our relationships and in our collective wellbeing.
Our framework in JEDDII (justice, equity, diversity, decolonization, Indigenization, and inclusion) is integral to our work and how we navigate as a settler organization.
Being in year one of our development plan is an opportunity for this framework to be deeply rooted in our organization’s growth. As Mabuhay House Society continues this process, it is crucial that we build these relations the right way with intention and impact.
This is Mabuhay House Society’s continued and ever-growing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous communities in our values of Lahat Kasama, Bayanihan Spirit, and Serbisyo sa Komunidad.
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About Mabuhay House Society
Established in 2021, Mabuhay House Society is a registered non-profit society working closely with the provincial government to develop a provincial Filipino cultural centre that will be an inclusive, intercultural, and intergenerational space that Filipino Canadians can call home, where everyone is welcome. Mabuhay House Society is paving the way for the Filipino connection and community to thrive in BC. Visit our website at mabuhayhouse.ca.
For more info:
Sammie Jo Rumbaua
Board Chair, Mabuhay House Society
chair@mabuhayhouse.ca
604-334-1800