Community Works

Until 2015, we allowed organisations to use productions of our plays for various fundraiser activities, usually for communities displaced by conflicts in the Southern Philippines. We also donated my books to libraries such as the Bangsamoro library in Cotabato City or the Bantayog ng mga Bayani (memorial shrine for the victims of human rights violations during the Marcos dictatorial regime).

Before I left the Philippines in 2017, we were conducting creative writing workshops for young Muslims who were displaced by conflict in Marawi City in 2017, a conflict between local terrorist groups and Duterte’s fascist military forces. The community leaders of Karen communities in Mae Hong Son and I provided short English language classes to young Karens living in Northern Thailand in 2017.

Most of my past works were about stories of communities in conflict with the state, nationalist tensions and ethnic conflicts. It was imperative for my creative process, from research to public presentation, that the community should be involved in all production levels down to the consumption of meanings of the narratives about their communities. The writer must be part of the community, and the writing should bring something back to the community. Theatre is always a communal enterprise – this is the foundation of my aesthetics as a playwright.

Below are some of the organisations and communities they provided me the privilege to be part of, as well as our community projects since 2017, in which I was given the chance to share my skills, knowledge, and interests in community work. Communities that became, and still are, my community.

Kanlungan Filipino Consortium is a London-based charity that provides services to Filipino communities in the UK. For more updates on our activities and services, visit our website, follow us on Twitter, or like our Facebook page.

Donate to Kanlungan Filipino Consortium here.

The PINK Transcripts (2021 – present)

The PINK Transcripts is a project of the Southeast and East Asian Community Centre with the Kanlungan Filipino Consortium for the members of the LGBT communities within the Southeast and Asian communities in London. The project is supported by Thrive London. The PINK Transcipt is divided into two phases: the first phase, a series of workshops to ‘transcribe’ the experiences of our participants through a series of theatre workshops as theraphy and the second phase (depending on the UK Government lockdown regulations) a series of workshops/rehearsals leading to a public performance.

Better Living Through Creative Writing (2020 – present)

Better Living Through Creative Writing is a project of the Kanlungan Filipino Consortium and supported by the Culture Seeds of the Mayor of London.

Better Living Through Creative Writing is a community creative writing workshop for the members of Southeast and East Asian migrant communities in London. Each workshop session is divided into two parts: the first half is a class on English as a second language, and the second part is workshops on poetry, life writing, and fiction writing.

Initially, the workshop was being attended by Filipino and Vietnamese migrants. We opened it to other communities such as the Balochistan, Filipino-Germans in London, and black and South Asian communities. We moved our workshop sessions online since the lockdown due to COVID-19 in 2020.

We are still conducting our workshop sessions and you may visit our Facebook page for more updates.

Karenni Social Development Center

Karenni Social Development Center is a school for Karenni stateless people on the Thai-Burma border. In 2017, the community gave me the privilege of teaching English to young Karennis as a volunteer.

Karenni is an ethnic group displaced by conflict in Burma (Myanmar). Most live in the State of Kayah, are settled refugees in a third country, or have been stateless for several decades on the Thai-Burma border.