Filipino News April 2017

APRIL 2017. ISSUE 99 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | www.pinoynzlife.nz Facebook: Filipino Migrant News 09
BUHAY
OVERSEAS
Apl.de.ap
LOS ANGELES -
Filipino-American singer
Apl.de.ap (birth name:
Alan Pineda) needs no
introduction. He has visited
Auckland on two occasions.
Once in October
2008, when he was a member
of the Grammy awardwinning
group The Black
Eyed Peas, his band performed
at the Vector Arena
in Auckland. Then in
November 2013 he returned
for a solo gig as
guest DJ at '21' in Skycity.
Perhaps what is less well
known is Apl.de.ap's charity
work in the Philippines
to help save babies from
blindness. In 2014 his
Apl.de.ap Foundation International
partnered with
distinguished paediatric
eye surgeon, Thomas Lee,
MD, and his team of
experts in the Vision Center
at Children's Hospital in
Los Angeles in support of
the ‘Campaign for Filipino
Children.’
As the foundation's first
healthcare initiative, the
campaign provides a sustainable
approach to the
diagnosis and treatment of
a widespread eye affliction
in the Philippines that causes
blindness in premature
babies.
“In a country where there
are very few provisions for
special education, the
prospects for children with
visual impairment are quite
dismal,” said Apl.de.ap.
“This issue is something
that we have the power and
knowledge to address. By
partnering with the foremost
experts in this area -
Dr. Lee and the experts at
By SHEILA MARIANO
helps save babies
from blindness
“I'm paying it forward,” Apl.de.ap told reporters
recently. The cause is personal to him, as he was born
legally blind to a poor family in Pampanga.
Children's Hospital
Los Angeles - we are
not only saving the
vision of thousands of
children every year,
we are also vastly improving
their chances
of a better life.”
In the Philippines the
condition is both economic
and medical in scope: at
least ten percent of all premature
births in the
Philippines are caused in
part by the relative deficiency
of prenatal care
available to the poor, and at
least thirty percent of those
preemies develop Retinopathy
of Prematurity
(ROP).
Many Filipino hospitals
and physicians lack the
training to diagnose the disease,
which causes abnormal
blood vessel growth
from excessive oxygenation,
destroying the retina,
the eye's inner most layers.
If not treated within 48
hours of diagnosis, the
baby will become permanently
blind.
“I'm paying it forward,”
Apl.de.ap told reporters
recently. The cause is personal
to him, as he was
born legally blind to a poor
family in Pampanga. Until
he was adopted and
brought to the United
States for eye treatments at
the age of 14, his vision
challenges brought about
difficulties in school, selfesteem
problems and often
required special assistance.
FMN interviewed Apl.
de.ap during his gig at
Skycity. He said that he
was the eldest of seven
children raised by a single
mum. And that moving to
America was difficult.
“Having to leave my family
I got homesick. In a way
that moves was a blessing
in disguise. I wouldn't have
had better opportunities if I
stayed in the Philippines,
especially as I had a very
rare eye condition.”
CHIKA
MUNA
FILIPNO-KIWI
MUSIC
AWARDS
17 June 2017
6 - 9pm
Mt Albert War Memorial
Hall, Mt Albert
FREE ENTRY
Come and meet our top
Pinoy singers, groups and
bands in New Zealand -
the best of the best.
They have entertained you
over the years at gigs:
events, concerts, etc.
It’s time to acknowledge
their contribution to the
community.
The resident band for the
Music Awards is
The DC BOYS - a Kiwi
group singing Filipino
songs in Tagalog!
Not to be missed!
All welcome!