Pura Velasco
Pura Velasco | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality | Filipina |
| Occupation | activist |
Pura Velasco is a Philippine-born activist and advocate for caregivers[1][2] based in Canada.
Pura M. Velasco was a student activist in the University of the Philippines.[3]
After her arrival in Toronto in 1989 from Vienna, where she was a migrant caregiver, Velasco took on the cause of her Filipina compatriots in Canada.[3] In 1991, she began to work as a facilitator for the organization Intercede for the Right of Domestic Workers, Caregivers, Nannies and Newcomers or INTERCEDE. She was a member of Instrac (Institute for Training and Accreditation of Foreign Professional Graduates) and the Multicultural Committee at Mid-Toronto Community Services.
She helped organize Migrante Women's Collective (MWC). Formerly known as the Coalition for the Defense of Migrant Workers' Rights, this organization evolved from a group of organizations such as the United Filipino Mothers, Caregivers' Cooperative, Katipunan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan, and others.[4] She also served as on the board of the Community Alliance for Social Justice.[5][6]
In 2007, Velasco founded Caregivers Action Centre, previously known as the Caregivers Support Services, with which she served as spokesperson,[7] advocating and lobbying for fair employment, immigration status, and access to settlement services.”[6]
Awards[edit]
- 1993 Skills for Change New Pioneer Award[8]
- 2010 Bromley Armstrong Award[9]
- 2016 J.S. Woodsworth Lifetime Achievement Award[10][11]
Selected publications[edit]
- ‘We Can Still Fight Back’: Organizing Domestic Workers in Toronto, in "Not One of the Family" Eds. Abigail B. Bakan, Daiva Stasiulis. pp 157-164. University of Toronto Press, 1997. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442677944-009
- Filipino Migrant Workers Amidst Globalization in "Canadian Woman Studies" 21.4-22.1 (2002): 131-35.
- Respect and Dignity for Caregivers'.' Speech delivered at the Almusalan Forum of the Philippine Press Club Ontario. Toronto, February 23, 2008.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ Bonnar, John (June 11, 2009). "Community groups fight for better living, working conditions for temporary foreign workers and live-in caregivers". Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ Mike Colle, MPP, Elginton-Lawrence (April 9, 2009). "Caregiver and Foreign Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, 2009". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Government of Ontario: Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- ^ a b Brazao, Dale; Cribb, Robert (April 3, 2009), Years of championing caregivers' cause pays off, Toronto Star
- ^ Santos, Maria Deanna (2000). "A Matter of Policy or Strategy? Promoting the Human Rights of Filipina Domestic Workers in Canada". Philippine Sociological Review. 48: 137–159. JSTOR 23898408.
- ^ Mercurio, Edwin (September 19–25, 2004). "Filipinos in Canada Organize To Protect Themselves". Bulatlat. IV (33). Retrieved 2021-05-18.
- ^ a b Tungohan, Ethel. From the Politics of Everyday Resistance to the Politics From Below:Migrant Care Worker Activism in Canada (PDF) (PhD). University of Illinois Press, forthcoming.
- ^ Black, Debra (November 8, 2014). "New rules for federal live-in caregivers program". Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ "1993 NPA Education award recipients". Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ "Pura Velasco receives a Bromley L. Armstong Award". May 17, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ "NDP caucus honours Ontarians for their work to end racism".
- ^ Queano, Luisito (June 22, 2016). "Radyo Migrante wins 2016 J.S. Woodsworth Award for Human Rights and Equity".