THE social sciences and contemporary international affairs have always pushed her buttons.
That is why Maria Kyna Cortez, who just turned 18 on October 4, always involves herself in trying to solve problems on the local front and open up the eyes of children on issues not only hounding the country, but the world.
This was made possible after she joined Model United Nations in Grade 9. Aside from being an avid Model United Nations delegate, she also served as secretary-general and won numerous speech recognitions.
“I had always wanted to make a difference. With the Model UN, we did a lot of writing, making resolutions in the UN format. I realized we only wrote and actually did not do anything,” said Cortez, a senior [Grade 12] at Brent School in Binan, Laguna, in an interview with the BusinessMirror. In 2011, Cortez founded Persya (Political, Economic, Religious and Social Youth Activists) Philippines, a student-run organization. After three years, the organization has members from all over the world, including in Italy, Hong Kong and the Netherlands.
“When I thought about it, I talked with my friends and suggested we should form an activism club or activism group,” she recalled, explaining “activism” as a way of promoting “global or cultural awareness”.
“I want people to be exposed in social and cultural realities in this country; that is why I created Persya in order to teach global issues,” she said.
One of the activities of Persya is teaching children English and global issues at Tuloy Foundation, where she was surprised that most of the children are interested in being a celebrity someday.
“I realized there is a problem with the thinking of this country’s youth, especially those from the less fortunate areas. They look at show business as a stepping stone to becoming a celebrity, their stepping stone out of the quagmires of poverty. They don’t realize there’s an academic ground, a historical ground, the social sciences, that’s why I thought that Persya should be exposing these kids to global issues.”
Last summer Persya Philippines hosted students from Austria, Spain, the US Cambodia, Hong Kong and Singapore for a community-immersion program. They built houses in a Gawad Kalinga village and Tuloy Foundation, and they taught English and global issues to young students.
From crossing the Pasig River to attending the self-flagellation rites during Holy Week in Pampanga, Cortez tries to spread awareness by interacting with the community around her to showcase Filipino adversity and resilience.
She also spearheaded local fundraisers for Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan ) victims, organizing bake sales and a football tournament to help rebuild public schools in Eastern Guiuan in Samar. “We will definitely rebuild more schools in the area.”
Cortez also directed short films to expose socio-economic realities in Manila and its surrounding provinces.
She recently attended the Yale Young Global Scholars program to hone her skills in international affairs, economics, and politics. She also worked as an intern under Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III. She also represented PERSYA and the Filipino people in a Harvard Social Entrepreneurship contest where she proposed a project for the betterment of Filipina women.
Disheartened with the labeling of Filipina women as domestic helpers, she proposed a project called Women at Work for Wellbeing to help Filipinas be better equipped for the workforce.
“I was really surprised to hear students of diverse backgrounds directly label Filipina women as domestic helpers. I never thought other people my age could just frankly say a culturally insensitive remark,” she said, adding that she herself treats her nanny with respect.
She garnered a finalist spot in the contest, further strengthening her resolve to help improve socio-economic conditions in the Philippines will not waver.
She said her project Women at Work for Wellbeing is to change the mentality of the Filipino women to work abroad but to make them stay here in the country and help them to make them better equip for them to be dignified.
“I want to study in the US but I want to return to help my country. It’s a two-way street. You get resources from the developing country and then you come back here and that’s where globalization starts,” she said.
She hopes to get an audience with Department of Education officials someday, to be able to share her ideas on domestic problems and also know how PERSYA can help the department.
With the myriad things she wants to accomplish, she expressed her gratitude for her having very supportive parents.