We’re raising money to support the families left behind.
Filipinos are a cornerstone of the UK’s National Health Service, making up 2% of healthcare workers, the third largest ethnic group. In the fight against COVID-19, however, Filipinos have been disproportionately affected. To date, more than 20% of NHS workers lost to COVID-19 are Filipino. They leave behind families both in the UK and in the Philippines - many of whom relied on them as their main source of income.
We are a group of 100 Filipinos, Britons, Canadians, Singaporeans, Italians, and Americans who have come together to honour the fallen Filipino NHS workers by collectively running, walking and exercising a total of 11,000 km - representing the journey from the UK to the Philippines. We want to symbolically bring our countrymen and women “home” one final time. We hope to raise Php 1 million (£20,000) to support the families they leave behind; to let them know they are not alone in these difficult times.
Click here to donate in Philippine Pesos
We call our initiative “BalikBayani”, inspired by the Tagalog words “Balikbayan” which refers to a Filipino countryman who has returned home from working abroad, and “Bayani” meaning “hero”. We travel the 11,000 kilometres in honour of our heroes’ final journeys home.
Visit our website www.balikbayani.org
