Who We Are

The Origin

Kabangka is a youth-led and youth-centred leadership organization that unites young Filipino/a/x-Canadians to support Filipino/a/x-Canadian representation in a variety of sectors.

We are a registered not-for-profit which aims to create a space and support fellow Filipino/a/x-Canadian youth to network, learn new and develop existing skills, build connections, inspire action, and empower young people as leaders in their communities. Our Board of Directors, alongside our Advisory Council ensures the quality and diversity of services and support to be utilized by our Filipino/a/x-Canadian community.

Kabangka originated from the establishment of Pinoys on Parliament (POP) in 2019. POP is the first and only national conference for Filipino/a/x-Canadian Youth in Canada. The conference welcomed over 100 delegates from across the country in 2019 and over 300 delegates in 2021.

The guiding principles of Kabangka are: youth empowerment; good governance; partnership, collaboration, community; equity, diversity, and inclusion; and non-partisanship.

The name of this organization, Kabangka, is borrowed from a poem by Rachel Evageline Chiong. Kabangka can be translated from Tagalog to English, as being on the same boat as someone. The poem illustrates Filipinos wading on a boat, one as a people, floating through their history and heading towards their futures. This spirit of oneness is one that Kabangka wants to instill in everything it does.

When we stand at the edge of the universe
the stardust ebbs and flows between our toes
We, the Filipinos,
comb our fingers through hair, thick and wavy,
washed in rivers of sinking stars
Brace our shoulders against celestial wind
Bodies darkened by kisses from the galaxy
Behind us,
Deep British Blue Meteor Belts blossom into space
Red Spanish Dust Cloud Debris whistle past our ears
like gunshots
driving us away

When we leap at the edge of the universe
and kick the stardust behind our heels
comets scrape against the hull of our boat
our knees brace, elbows lock as we leave behind
our dying home battered by red scabs and blue bruises

Years later
Our hearts will flutter as the breeze whispers
through the looser seams of this old boat

Wishing one day
We could leave Earth and return home
Somewhere, Up There, where we used to watch

the Earth beat
to the rhythms
of our rowing

Instead, we sow stars
hoping one day among clouds of sampaguita
galaxies might come bursting into fields
their fruits exploding with milky way and honey

Instead, we stay silent
when they tell us we were strangers who had fallen
from the exotic edges of the universe
where the angels and aliens live in heaven

Instead, we trail our fingers
on the surface of the aimless faceless waters,
waiting for a wind to catch our sails,
watching our stories like the ripples begin growing

We are going
everywhere
and nowhere
knowing that
our flowing is
(only another wave kissing)
the paddles
of our rowing

Our Vision

Kabangka aims to create space for young Filipino/a/x-Canadians and support them to network, grow, learn new skills, and build their abilities to inspire and empower both themselves and their communities. Kabangka serves young Filipino/a/x-Canadians across Canada and provide opportunities for youth to lead the conversation and action on issues and interests that are of importance to them.