Goodbye Ka Tonyang
A Tribute to Ka Tonyang
by Nat Duenas
studied and lived in Japan in the late 80's when we first met in the internet. She created the scholarship program for several indigenous children in the Zambales and Sierra Madre and later spread to other indigenous peoples all over the country. Her love for her ancestral countrymen was genuine and her knowlege was shared to all.
Ka Tonyang was synonimous to 'Mother Theresa' when compassion and kindness to those suppressed and in need. She championed the 'working Pinays in Japan' and created a network of worldwide concerned OFC through Fil-IT which later on expanded to other egroups of OF/OFWs.
We worked together since 1985 creating several 'internet cafes' in the provinces and remote locations allowing students and kids access to the free yahoo email and communicating concerns and issues on livelihood, education, communication, elections, enterpreneurship, and the advancement in technology.
Tonette has helped thousands of indigent children especially the Aetas and other indegenous tribes in realizing their dreams to elevate themselves to a higher and rewarding way of life. She gathered used computers from Japanese banks and financial institutions and crate them in shiploads to various locations in the Philippines. Her dreams of generating a new breed of Pilipinos came true from every individual she touch.
I recommended her for a University of Stanford Grant in 1999 but her commitment to the far reaches of the OF/OFWs has consumed her time managing dozens of egroups and websites, seeking financial assistance and investors to assit the less fortunate and those that were neglected by OWWA left on their own at the mercy of their foreign employers.
Tonette pioneered the OF/OFW empowerment through self-reliance with the generousity of the Japanese people and the contributions of the worldwide audience of concerned citizens.
Ka tonyang will always remain in the hearts of our people. May her tribe flourish from those who believe in her cause.
Goodbye my good friend, hope to see you soon.
Nat Duenas
Ka Tonyang was synonimous to 'Mother Theresa' when compassion and kindness to those suppressed and in need. She championed the 'working Pinays in Japan' and created a network of worldwide concerned OFC through Fil-IT which later on expanded to other egroups of OF/OFWs.
We worked together since 1985 creating several 'internet cafes' in the provinces and remote locations allowing students and kids access to the free yahoo email and communicating concerns and issues on livelihood, education, communication, elections, enterpreneurship, and the advancement in technology.
Tonette has helped thousands of indigent children especially the Aetas and other indegenous tribes in realizing their dreams to elevate themselves to a higher and rewarding way of life. She gathered used computers from Japanese banks and financial institutions and crate them in shiploads to various locations in the Philippines. Her dreams of generating a new breed of Pilipinos came true from every individual she touch.
I recommended her for a University of Stanford Grant in 1999 but her commitment to the far reaches of the OF/OFWs has consumed her time managing dozens of egroups and websites, seeking financial assistance and investors to assit the less fortunate and those that were neglected by OWWA left on their own at the mercy of their foreign employers.
Tonette pioneered the OF/OFW empowerment through self-reliance with the generousity of the Japanese people and the contributions of the worldwide audience of concerned citizens.
Ka tonyang will always remain in the hearts of our people. May her tribe flourish from those who believe in her cause.
Goodbye my good friend, hope to see you soon.
Nat Duenas
__________________________________________________
ANTONIA "TONETTE" AVISADO BINSOL was the Tulong Pinoy Movement, an organization of overseas Filipinos. She worked tirelessly to advance and raise public consciousness of the movement's goals.
Tonette spearheaded a project to establish an international school for children of the more than 400,000 Filipinos in Japan. Sixteen months ago, with the permission of St. Anselm's church parishpriest, Fr. Leo Schaumer, TP presented a program called
KABAYAN ORIENTATION FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN IN TOKYO
This FREE program is a weekend bicultural school project for all Japanese-Filipino children in Tokyo and its main targets are:
- To raise consciousness to Japanese-Filipino children and parents that there is Japanese-Filipino Identity and to help them build up its advantages;
- To impart learning of English and Filipino as second languages of Japanese-Filipino children;
- To provide a learning experience of Filipino values and cultural heritage of the Philippines
Who are qualified to join? - Children with Japanese and Filipino parents;* Children with Filipino parents who are working in Japan
Tonette was indefatigable in helping with the passage of the absentee voting movement, working with Filipinos in Japan.
She also started a free weekly computer classes for Filipino migrant workers to help migrants educate themselves, start networking to give them the social security necessary to survive in a foreign country,and study Japanese to help workers communicate better with the Japanese community, which helps foster closer ties and smooth acceptance of foreigners. This gave them a place to study, exchangeinformation, share ideas, learn to support each other and empower them to negotiate for their rights. In August the program expands to include business startup and Japanese courses, accounting/management, English (academic and corporate), cooking/baking, and advancedcomputer courses such as multimedia/video-streaming, hardware assembly, troubleshooting, programming in Visual Basic/C++/Perl, graphics design, web authoring, database management, etc.
She raised funds to send Zambales' Aeta children to school, started an adult Aeta literacy program, a mud crab farm in the Philippines, facilitated access to the Internet in various Philippine communities, promoted a cyber OFWMall to buy and sell goods, the formation of a more secure and speedy manner of sending remittances to RP, OFW-TV, and numerous local economic programs geared to alleviate poverty in the country.
Tonette , a one of a kind cyber and real life NGO, passed away on July 10th, 2007.
She is sorely missed.
Marvin Bionat
__________________________________________________
Antonia "Tonette" Binsol better known in the cyber world also as Ka Tonyang a pillar in Overseas Filipinos community worldwide passed away due to aneurism in Japan in the morning, June 10, 2007.
Labels:
Ka Tonyang
2 Speak Out:
WElcome home, Ka Tonyang. Welcome home, oh Faithful One.
We, at the Movement for a Free Philippines-New Jersey , would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Ka Tonyang. Her deeds made our world a little more pleasant than what it is.
For us at MFP, Ka Tonyang personifies the ideal of what one should hold to make a difference in the lives of our kababayans– SHE BELIEVED THAT IT WAS NOT SO MUCH WHAT SHE HAD THAT MATTERED BUT WHAT SHE COULD DO WITH WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN HER THAT TRULY COUNTED.
On a personal level, I have not met her in person. But from her internet messages, taking issues for our less fortunate brethren in the Philippines and those OFWs who suffered some misfortunes outside the country, I could almost feel her passion and commitment to make a difference in the lives of others.
In a sense, her selflessness showed that she somehow knew all along that she was NOT for herself only. This explains why her heart was constantly restless and never at peace. She seemed to try to quench that restlessness by trying to give a part of herself to those who are less fortunate than most until she had no more to give because she finally found rest in that HOME not made of human hands.
In many ways, her deeds had made this world a little more pleasant to live with for those of us whose lives she had touched.
Welcome home, Ka Tonyang. Welcome home, oh faithful one.
oh my God, I never thought Ka Tonyang would leave so soon. I had been a member of the Fil-IT group for 4 years before I left for Canada last year. I was surprised to hear of her passing a year ago and I am so saddened that he had to go. I have my utmost respect and admiration to her noble deeds and I wish the people who helped her realize her projects for the community would continue her mission and help a lot of people. May you rest in peace, Ka Tonyang and thank you for being our inspiration. :)
Post a Comment