A series of free writing workshops to collect stories about the Filipino experience in Hawaiʻi is about to get underway.
The project “We Tell Our Story: Filipino Voices in Hawaii” will be held across the state. It's an effort from the Filipino Association of University Women to document original first-person histories.
Virgie Chattergy is a retired University of Hawaiʻi education professor helping with the workshops. She was born and raised in the Philippines and came to Hawaiʻi when her husband took a job here.
"I think as generations stay, we're into the fourth generation, there is a growing interest in looking back to the roots," she said.
"There's also, conversely, a little danger that the younger generation today may be moving farther and farther away from the Filipino heritage, not by choice, but because they lack the grounding and understanding of their core values and traditions — and that's what we want to evoke in our stories," Chattergy said.
Writing workshops will be held on Oʻahu in May, Maui in June, the Big Island in July, and Kauaʻi in August. The deadline to sign up for the Oʻahu workshop is May 10.
"We're trying to get people who are interested in telling their stories but feel a little intimidated by the writing process," Chattergy said.
FAUW hopes to eventually share the collected stories with the public, writers, educators and more.
For more information or to register for a workshop, contact Pepi Nieva at 808-225-1219 or Nanette Carreon-Ruhter at nanette48@gmail.com.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 8, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
