CONSUL GENERAL MEA ANNE CARES ABOUT PINOYS IN LOTUSLAND

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." John Maxwell

Ancient Greeks met and discuss issues in the Agora, an open space meeting place. In Vancouver, newly installed Hon. Consul General Maria Andrelita "Mea Anne" Austria initiated a Kapihan Sa Konsulado( Breakfast at the Consulate Office) to listen to the needs and challenges encountered by Pinoys. ConGen Mea Anne(she prefers to be called Mea Anne) says, " We want to listen more than we want to talk."

ConGen Me Anne continues, "We just don't want to discuss issues but we want to come up with courses of action." She already promised the Vancouver media the 2019 Calendar of Events the Consulate General Office(CGO) intends to fulfill. She reiterated that the Kapihan intends to identify the pressing needs of the Fil-Can Community in Vancouver. And the Calendar of activities will essentially reflect this.

Our ConGen is not only a charismatic leader- she is well-educated. She finished her Post Graduate Study in International Relations and Development from the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague, the Netherlands.

She graduated from Maryknoll with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Studies(Cum Laude).

ConGen Mea Anne worked as Assistant Secretary for American Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila. She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC.

She also served as Deputy Presidential Assistant for Foreign Affairs in the Office of the President of the Philippines.

ConGen Austria has been a civil servant since 1986 and served as career diplomat since 1992. She has a storied and well-appreciated foreign service tenure to this day. She was awarded the Presidential Order of Lakandula with the rank of Officer by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Gawad Mabini Award by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, with the rank of Dakilang Kasugo. She was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Merit from President Benigno Aquino lll.

She recently met the Fil-Canadian Media recently at the Kapihan Sa Konsulado. She started by saying that, " When I met a Canadian federal official, he told me that his nanny is a Filipina." This did not sit well with ConGen Austria.

There are about 4,000 to 5000 caregivers(nannies) out of around 150,000 Pinoys in BC. That's about 3%. CG Mea Anne emphatically asserts "the Fil-Can community consists of professional Pinoys like nurses, acountants, lawyers, architects, entrepreneurs, immigration consultants and others."

At one time, one of the top financial officials in Vancouver City Hall was a Filipina. Beng Atienza, a Graduate from the University of the Philippines, was a former Urban Planner pioneer in the Richmond City Hall. Archie Alafriz has been with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for over 15 years. Robert Afan, CEO of a top mortgage broker company, led his Company to achieve billion dollar mortgage sales. There are countless success stories of Pinoy professionals. CG Austria intends to meet them and make them role models for the young Pinoy high school students who are struggling academically and looking for role models.

CG Mea Anne is aware that Fil-Canadian high school drop out rate is high. Kids who just arrived from Manila did not see their parents for years and need to be reconnected with their parents who may need to do double jobs to take care of the family's needs. ConGen wants to have a forum with these kids and bring role models of Fil Canadian ancestry. A Pinay who produced an independent movie titled "Finding Big Country", Kat Jayme was mentioned perhaps to deliver a talk on how she became successful. Jason Pires, a CTV News Anchorman is another successful kababayan who can inspire these young people to similar success.

It seems that ConGen's next group of people to meet and discuss issues in her own Kapihan are people from the memorial/cemetery industry. There are cases when some deceased body of kababayans(compatriots) need to be repatriated home. The cost is high and people end up raising money to help. If these people are Philippine passport holders, the government of the Philippines can do something to help.

ConGen Mea Anne is a lady with a mission. She is just warming up after a mere four months in Office as ConGen. She wants to meet more Pinoys in her own "Agora" at the Consulate General Office and she is geared to listen more than talk. Her end result should be courses of action to help people in need. She can not do it alone and she needs the Pinoy media and community leaders in Vancouver to help her achieve her goals.