Three outstanding young Filipinos were the recipients of the Young Entrepreneur and Young Professional Awards (YEPA) at the Filipino Centre Toronto Presidents’ Gala held at the Fairmont Royal York, April 28.

The two recipients for the Young Professional Award were Russ Patrick Perez Alcedo and Roland Sintos Coloma, while the recipient for the Young Entrepreneur Award was Joseph Magkawas Alilio.

Roland Coloma has a string of educational achievements to his name: B.A. in Liberal Studies, University of California; M.A. and Ph.D. in Cultural Studies in Education, Ohio University; M.A. in Educational Administration, University of California.  His current employment and positions at the University of Toronto: Assistant Professor and Graduate Coordinator, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education; Co-Director, Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies. He is only one of seven university professors of Filipino descent in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences in the entire country of Canada.  He is at present involved with a research project on Filipino elderlies in Canada.

A community-based research project that looks at the well-being of Filipino elderly in the Greater Toronto Area has started last fall. The project is a joint initiative by the Filipino Centre Toronto committee and two academics from the University of Toronto, Professor Roland Coloma of the Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, and Fritz Pino, a masters student of the Faculty of Social Work – both Filipinos who are interested in the areas of social justice in the community.
 
The study will explore the health, social welfare, living situation, un/employment, and level of supports of elderly Filipinos in the GTA. Given the rise of the aging population in Canada, the committee felt that there is a need to examine closely how our older Filipino adults in the GTA are doing: Are our older folks happy living in Canada? Are they alone? Do/Can they have access to health and social services? Do they have supports? These are among the many questions the committee wants to know for the welfare of Filipino elderly. It is believed that the project will be the first one in the Filipino elderly community in the GTA.