Pinoy group treats UK nurses to singing, dancing, good food

NEWCASTLE, England — Every May 12 since 1965, the world celebrates International Nurses' Day to commemorate the achievements of nurses and their contribution to society, which was rooted from the founder of modern Nursing, Florence Nightingale.

In Newcastle, England, a special event was held on May 27 to recognize all nurses in their dedication to National Health Service (NHS) in delivering outstanding patient care. Some 100 nurses attended the event, including those who recently arrived in the UK.

Nurses from NorthEast England with guest speaker Rev. Ana Karen Perez (4th from right).

The event was organized by the Filipino International Church (TFIC), the first Filipino Baptist Church accredited by The Baptist Union of Great Britain in 2013.

Founded by Reverend Virgilio Pansacala, a Filipino pastor from Montalban, Rizal, TFIC aims to reach out more families to Christ and takes pride in recognizing the hard work and dedication of nurses every year.

The May 27 event was called Nurses' Sunday as it was celebrated on a Sunday service, with a theme, "In pursuit of health and spirituality,"  The service's guest speaker, Reverend Ana Karen Perez, came all the way from Baguio City in the Philippines from Jesus Christ the Glorious Saviour International Ministry alongside with her husband, Reverend  Jun Perez, to share the gospel.

Group photo of all the nurses following the awarding/recognition.

After the service, the guests were inspired by a couple of speakers who shared their stories of success in their nursing career in the UK. The first speaker, Jenny Locsin, who has been in the country since 2002 currently work as a  ward manager at North Tyneside Hospital. She has been a ward manager since 2010.

According to Jenny, her drive to migrate in the UK was mainly for her family. She shared her experiences as an OFW especially how she adjusted with the culture and the English tongue, the Geordie accent in particular since she resides at the North East part of England.

Meanwhile, the other speaker, Larry Jagonase, a nurse practitioner at Sunderland Royal hospital since 2010, shared how perseverance and education helped him in his career since he became an OFW in 2001.

Both speakers gave encouraging words to all the nurses especially to the young ones, with many Filipinos saying their homesickness momentarily eased during the event.

Aside from speeches, the event also featured dancing, singing and a lot of Filipino food. All the nurses were given a fob watch courtesy of TFIC and everyone went home blessed and motivated.

Because of the success of this year’s event, TFIC is now planning to hire a bigger venue for next year to accommodate more nurses.  —KBK, GMA News