Diaspora on the Frontlines
(ongoing)
-National Geographic
-Rappler Philippines
-GMA Philippines
Photographs featured on CNN and Science Friday
Exhibited at Photoville 2021
Supported by The National Geographic Society
Filipino nurses have been on the frontlines of many health crises over the years and it is not by accident. Healthcare in the Philippines was largely modeled after the American system during the U.S. occupation, which lasted 48 years. This prepared Filipinos to become nurses abroad instead of their home country.
My project, Diaspora on the Frontlines, documents five Filipino nursing families, making up 9 nurses, all of whom represent the large population that have been historically shaped to fill the US shortage of nurses. This project is comprised of documentary images of their lives, along with historical and present day diptychs to illustrate the missing and present day stories of these migrants.
Special thanks to Ren Capucao and Catherine Ceniza Choy for your research and work on this issue.