This is the crowdfunding page for the 2015 Kaya Co. Fellowship.
To access the fundraising page for the 2016 Kaya Co. Fellowship please go to
http://2016kayafellowship.causevox.com
"The Filipino dream, to put it succinctly, is to leave the Philippines."
This summer, nine emerging Filipino leaders from universities across the United States will gather in Manila, ready to take on a summer of learning and action in the Philippine social sector.
The fellowship is Kaya Collaborative's first step toward its mission of reconnecting Filipino diaspora youth with opportunities for transnational action in the Philippines. During the summer, fellows immerse in personalized 8-week internships with homegrown social ventures, learn from local community partners, and collectively design new solutions to bridge the disconnect between diaspora and home. After the summer, fellows are launched back to their diaspora networks to engineer and implement this reconnection at scale.
One fellow, Sierra Jamir, remembers her first moment of inspiration: “Iskwelahang Pilipino (Filipino School) exposed me at a young age to communities halfway around the world with a common face and culture as my own.” She has since explored this sense of connection by founding her high school’s Southeast Asian Association; creating PinoyJeep, a blog on Filipino culture for young Fil-Ams in New England; and organizing to raise funds for Aeta children in the Philippines.
Jade Verdeflor, another fellow, points to an Alternative Spring Break on Filipino American leadership as a critical step in her journey to find power through her identity. “I was so eye-opened and in awe,” she recalls, “of how powerful the solidarity in the community was.” During her freshman year, Jade found herself playing a leading role in initiating Taskforce Haiyan as a campus-wide collaboration across Stanford. Typhoon Haiyan was her call to action to translate this sense of collective power to involvement in Philippine causes.
Many stories like these emerge from the fellowship. There’s Anthony Garciano, a USC sophomore who moved from Camotes Island, now driving a deliberate transformation of his Filipino cultural group from a social club to one that’s more rooted in culture and service. For Sarah Santos, a Georgetown freshman, the intersection of her interests has brought social impact, storytelling, and her cultural identity to the forefront of an intensely personal journey.
In all of these stories, the same animating questions of impact and identity play out in different forms – and the same energy buzzes around the promise of what comes next. This year's fellows are:
- Adam Jackson, Ohio State University '16, Hope in a Bottle
- Anthony Garciano, University of Southern California '17, Edukasyon.PH
- Gabbie Santos, Middlebury College '17, Bantay.PH
- Jade Verdeflor, Stanford University '17, Kythe
- Jon Caña, University of California, Berkeley '16, Ashoka Philippines
- Mae Verano, Brown University '16, Habi Education Lab
- Sarah Santos, Georgetown University '18, Kalsada
- Sierra Jamir, University of Connecticut '18, Food for Hungry Minds
- Stephanie Dofitas, University of Pittsburgh '15, Ritmo Learning Lab
Together, the fellows will be learning about a new wave of leadership and innovation in the Philippines, about the different ways that local Filipinos have taken their future into their own hands. Together, they will unlock the roles that our global community of balikbayans can play.
This is the second year of the Kaya Co. fellowship, which launched last summer with the support of Brown University, the Ayala Foundation, Ashoka’s Youth Venture, and our own inspiring Filipino communities. Last year’s fellows are now back in the US and mobilizing others to unlock their identities for transnational impact. Learn more about their stories and their work through Kaya Co’s Medium channel and website.
