Pura Velasco

Pura Velasco is a Philippine-born activist and advocate for caregivers[1][2] based in Canada.

Pura Velasco
Born
Philippines
NationalityFilipina
Occupationactivist

Pura M. Velasco was a student activist in the University of the Philippines.[3]

After her arrival in Toronto in 1989 from Vienna, where she was a migrant caregiver, Velasco took on the cause of her Filipina compatriots in Canada.[3] In 1991, she began to work as a facilitator for the organization Intercede for the Right of Domestic Workers, Caregivers, Nannies and Newcomers or INTERCEDE. She was a member of Instrac (Institute for Training and Accreditation of Foreign Professional Graduates) and the Multicultural Committee at Mid-Toronto Community Services.

She helped organize Migrante Women's Collective (MWC). Formerly known as the Coalition for the Defense of Migrant Workers' Rights, this organization evolved from a group of organizations such as the United Filipino Mothers, Caregivers' Cooperative, Katipunan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan, and others.[4] She also served as on the board of the Community Alliance for Social Justice.[5][6]

In 2007, Velasco founded Caregivers Action Centre, previously known as the Caregivers Support Services, with which she served as spokesperson,[7] advocating and lobbying for fair employment, immigration status, and access to settlement services.”[6]

Awards
  • 1993 Skills for Change New Pioneer Award[8]
  • 2010 Bromley Armstrong Award[9]
  • 2016 J.S. Woodsworth Lifetime Achievement Award[10][11]

Selected publications
  • ‘We Can Still Fight Back’: Organizing Domestic Workers in Toronto, in "Not One of the Family" Eds. Abigail B. Bakan, Daiva Stasiulis. pp 157-164. University of Toronto Press, 1997. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442677944-009
  • Filipino Migrant Workers Amidst Globalization in "Canadian Woman Studies" 21.4-22.1 (2002): 131-35.
  • Respect and Dignity for Caregivers'.' Speech delivered at the Almusalan Forum of the Philippine Press Club Ontario. Toronto, February 23, 2008.

References
  1. Bonnar, John (June 11, 2009). "Community groups fight for better living, working conditions for temporary foreign workers and live-in caregivers". Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  2. Mike Colle, MPP, Elginton-Lawrence (April 9, 2009). "Caregiver and Foreign Worker Recruitment and Protection Act, 2009". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Government of Ontario: Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
  3. Brazao, Dale; Cribb, Robert (April 3, 2009), Years of championing caregivers' cause pays off, Toronto Star
  4. Santos, Maria Deanna (2000). "A Matter of Policy or Strategy? Promoting the Human Rights of Filipina Domestic Workers in Canada". Philippine Sociological Review. 48: 137–159. JSTOR 23898408.
  5. Mercurio, Edwin (September 19–25, 2004). "Filipinos in Canada Organize To Protect Themselves". Bulatlat. IV (33). Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  6. Tungohan, Ethel. From the Politics of Everyday Resistance to the Politics From Below:Migrant Care Worker Activism in Canada (PDF) (PhD). University of Illinois Press, forthcoming.
  7. Black, Debra (November 8, 2014). "New rules for federal live-in caregivers program". Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  8. "1993 NPA Education award recipients". Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  9. "Pura Velasco receives a Bromley L. Armstong Award". May 17, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  10. "NDP caucus honours Ontarians for their work to end racism".
  11. Queano, Luisito (June 22, 2016). "Radyo Migrante wins 2016 J.S. Woodsworth Award for Human Rights and Equity".
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