Embracing Truth and Reconciliation: Mabuhay House Society's Ongoing Commitment

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 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 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.