Our Values

Kapwa

Bayanihan

Malasakit

Balikbayan

Community is an essential part of Filipino culture and history. From the People’s Power Revolution in the Philippines to the Filipino American laborer's Delano Grape Strikes, it is fitting to use FLAN’s framework to parallel Filipino cultural values that emphasize 'community.' In fact, in Tagalog, there is not just one word for community. There is a word for caring for your fellow friends or members, there is a word for a village, or in this case a network of people, and there is a word for the love to the community far away in our homeland. So taking those concepts of Filipino values, we wanted to categorize the different groups of people we will be engaging in Georgia to build a strong, broader Filipino ecosystem in Georgia.

Kapwa

Students are the core part of our network. They are our kapwa or “our kindred and fellow humans,” as we help them navigate a world after graduating. We will build relationships with them by doing outreach at their campuses, attending their general body meetings to advertise FLAN, and tabling at local AAPI and Fil-Am events to increase our visibility.

Bayanihan

Our community members are a core part of our model. To build connections, we must work with other Filipino community organizations and associations to preserve the cultural value of bayanihan, or the Tagalog word meaning “to unite in cooperation to achieve a common purpose”.

Organizations We’ve Partnered & Collaborated with so far!

Another Filipino community value we want to teach in our practice is the word malasakit. There isn't an exact translation in English that fully captures its meaning. However, the best translation that reflects its essence would be “to care for something or someone as if it were your own.” Considering the model of this network, we think of the collective as a form of “us” rather than viewing our communities, associations, and organizations as “them.” We care for each member as part of our ecosystem. The Filipino experience is expansive.

Malasakit

Balikbayan

Finally, we hope to include a way to give back to our homeland as children of the Philippine diaspora. Balikbayan is the Tagalog word for “returning to the motherland” or “sending support and love back home.” This can be through mutual aid for disaster relief or philanthropic projects in the Philippines. Once we establish a presence in our community in Georgia, we want to honor our roots back home in the Philippines soon.