Provincial government awards Mabuhay House Society to move Filipino Cultural Centre project forward
Originally published March 2023
Vancouver - The provincial government is committed to advancing a Filipino Cultural Centre for the almost 200,000 strong Filipino-Canadian community in British Columbia - and its partner in this effort is the Mabuhay House Society.
In March 2023, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sports awarded the Mabuhay House Society a $250,000 grant for capacity building to ensure there is a solid organization in the Filipino community to move the project forward.
The grant is the single largest investment into the Filipino community by any level of government in BC.
“We are especially grateful for this grant because it recognizes our community’s long-standing dream and effort for a Filipino Cultural Centre. We know that while the work we do today is built on the experiences of the past - we have a historic opportunity to unite as a community to carry it forward in ways that were previously unimaginable,” says Sammie Jo Rumbaua, Chairperson of Mabuhay House Society.
The Mabuhay House Society is a registered non-profit that incorporated in the fall of 2021. In June 2022, they launched their Bayanihan Movement for Mabuhay House (a Filipino Cultural Centre) with a Philippine Independence Day celebration at the Helena Gutteridge Plaza at Vancouver’s City Hall and since then has been establishing relationships with various stakeholders inside and outside the Filipino community.
“Through this partnership with the provincial government, we’re in a position to focus on capacity building so that we have a strong organization with checks and balances and the ability to make our dream of a Filipino Cultural Centre a reality”, she added.
To enable the Mabuhay House Society to carry out the work needed, Rumbaua explained they are hiring an Executive Director, a Community Development Manager, a Communications Coordinator and a Community Liaison.
“Mabuhay House is focused on the foundational work we need to accomplish to be successful in moving this project forward. We are building our internal capacity and working closely with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport to make sure our plans align with government frameworks, so we can ultimately deliver on this project.
We are building capacity and working closely with government to create a plan that is achievable,” said Rumbaua.
“We’re excited to be assembling our team in the coming days and about all that is ahead as we focus on the important tasks before us as an organization and as a community,” she concluded.