February Members Meeting
“Malaking tulong po ito para sa akin dahil may pag-asa po kami na mabigyan ng two years working permit. (This is a big help for me because we now have hope to be given a two-year working permit)” - Careen, Damayan member, housekeeper, labor trafficking survivor
“Big thanks sa Damayan. Ang saya saya ng event kanina at lahat enjoy talaga, as always. (Big thanks to Damayan. The event earlier was fun and everyone really enjoyed it, as always.)” - Gina, Damayan member, caregiver
Last Saturday, the first-ever Damayan Monthly Members Meeting was held at the People’s Forum at Manhattan. Members enjoyed a jam-packed program, a Filipino spread for lunch, and fun community-building activities that make the Damayan Monthly Members Meeting a much-anticipated monthly event for the community.
Members looked forward to the presentation of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration policy by guest speaker Atty. Michelle Lapointe, Senior Attorney of the National Immigration Law Center. Atty. Lapointe detailed the policy and how to put together an application. Damayan Executive Director Riya Ortiz offered a translation most especially during the Question-and-Answer portion, where workers wanted to clarify important information. This new immigration policy is a major milestone that has only come to pass after workers organized to fight for them. This policy means a new incentive towards reporting labor disputes, as it can also help workers obtain deferred action and a two-year work authorization.
The main activity of the Monthly Members Meeting was the Workers Academy 2022-2023 Graduation. After a two-year hiatus, one of Damayan’s flagship programs, Workers Academy, finally resumed in 2022 with over 30 participants. Workers Academy is a four-part series focusing on educating and empowering the workers on the role of history on the migrant workers’ current experience, on labor and immigration rights, and a narrative-writing workshop that helps equip them to write their narrative to build and make their cases stronger. Fellow migrant workers and labor trafficking survivors also shared their testimonials during the workshops, giving encouragement to the participants, majority of whom were tackling their own current or prospective labor trafficking cases.
This Monthly Members Meeting was made even more special by the Valentine’s celebration that the community warmly shared together with cakes, flowers, and games.
Our next Damayan Monthly Members Meeting will be on March 11 at The People’s Forum. Stay tuned for the registration link.
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