Banyuhay Aotearoa

11/10/2026

Run, walk or wheel with Banyuhay Aotearoa at Round the Bays 2027! 🏃‍♀️💙

Banyuhay Aotearoa is taking part again in Southern Cross Round the Bays 2027, and we would love you to join us or support us.

Where your support goes:
Funds raised will support our kababayan who are experiencing hardship.
We also plan to cover the costs of our Migrant Welcome sessions, including tools, promotion and materials.

What we achieved last year:
At Round the Bays 2026, our supporters raised $346.50 in Wellington and $184.30 in Christchurch. These funds helped us support some of our kababayan facing hardship. Thank you to everyone who made that possible.

Whether you run, walk, jog or cheer from the sidelines, every bit of support, big or small, makes a difference.

📍 Choose your city:

Wellington, Sunday 14 February 2027: https://rtbwellington27.grassrootz.com/banyuhay-aotearoa
Christchurch, Sunday 21 February 2027: https://rtbchristchurch27.grassrootz.com/banyuhay-aotearoa
Auckland, Sunday 7 March 2027: https://rtbauckland27.grassrootz.com/banyuhay-aotearoa

Sign up, donate or share this post with your whānau, friends and workmates. Let’s get moving together!

Salamat po sa inyong suporta. 🙏

11/10/2026

Live music. Good food. A community coming together. 🎶

Banyuhay Aotearoa is proud to back this Filipino band benefit concert, raising funds to build a new church for St. Mary's Parish.

📅 Saturday, 17 October 2026
🕛 12:00 noon
📍 Mt. Albert War Memorial Hall, Auckland

Come along for live performances from talented Filipino bands, plus food, crafts and raffle prizes. Bring the whole whānau for a fun afternoon that makes a real difference.

Great music. Great cause. Great time. 🙏

Help us build St. Mary's new church. See you there!

10/10/2026

Agapito, a Filipino short film directed and written by Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Romero, and produced by Jon Galvez, Carlos Ortiz and Mick Quito, is part of the Show Me Shorts Film Festival Sampler, screening at over 30 venues throughout New Zealand!

Don't miss this chance to see this film at a theatre near you from 11-24 October. Check the sreening schedule and book your tickets via this link: https://www.showmeshorts.co.nz/attend/2026-programme/films/agapito

06/10/2026

Missed our CV Writing Workshop? We've got you covered. 📝

Read our latest blog recap featuring practical, no-nonsense advice from HR professional Julius Borines on what it really takes to break into the New Zealand job market, from building a Kiwi-style CV to avoiding common job-hunting scams.

Whether you're just starting your job search or have been applying without much luck, this is must-read.

A heartfelt thank you to Julius for sharing his expertise, to Lois and Raffy for organising the session, and to everyone who joined us on the day.

👉 Read the full blog: https://www.banyuhayaotearoa.org/post/breaking-into-the-new-zealand-job-market-highlights-from-our-cv-writing-workshop

This is just one of the free online webinars we run to support Filipino migrants navigating life and work in Aotearoa. Follow Banyuhay Aotearoa so you don't miss what's coming next, including our Part 2 session on job interviews in NZ, happening in late January.

29/09/2026

New Zealand Electoral Process — Tagalog / Filipino 🇳🇿

Want to better understand how New Zealand’s electoral process works?

Watch our Tagalog-language video about MMP, enrolment and how to participate in New Zealand’s 2026 General Election.

🎥 Watch the full Tagalog video:
https://youtu.be/Cf6O4lK0rxI

Please share with Filipino friends and communities.

21/09/2026

For our Banyuhay whānau, wherever you are in Aotearoa, this is a beautiful way to stay connected to the languages of home and pass them on to the next generation.

Wika PH offers gamified lessons in Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, and Asi, with over 1,500 learners already on board.

📲 Download Wika PH: https://apple.co/4xbluwt

WIKA FORWARD 🇵🇭📱

What began as one student’s struggle to learn his family’s Ilocano has grown into Wika PH, a Filipino-built language-learning platform designed to help people reconnect with Philippine languages.

The project was developed by students Kien Leriss Serapio, Alexander Galedo, Leony Santos, Jude Tabuzo, Jhondel Mico Abas, and David Memorando. Five are from the Technological University of the Philippines-Manila, while Memorando studies at Mapúa University Makati.

Their early prototype was built in just 16 hours during Developer Camp Manila 2026, held March 6–8 at The Astbury in Makati. The official Developer Camp results confirm Wika as the competition’s runner-up, earning a $1,200 prize.

For Serapio, the idea was personal. Despite coming from an Ilocano family, he shared with INB that he never learned to speak the language. That experience made him recognize how difficult it can be for Filipinos to find accessible tools for learning languages spoken by their own families and communities.

Instead of leaving Wika as a hackathon prototype, the team continued developing it while juggling classes, thesis work, internships, graduation requirements, and jobs.

Today, Wika PH offers structured and gamified lessons in Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, and Asi, alongside conversational and personalized learning features. Its official website and App Store listing confirm these five languages are currently available.

The team says the platform has already attracted more than 1,500 learners and previously reached No. 16 in the Philippine App Store’s free education rankings. The ranking is time-sensitive; Apple’s listing showed Wika PH at No. 27 in Education when checked on Sept. 20.

For Serapio, who also balances college with work as a software developer, the project carries a lesson beyond technology: “Just start.”

Wika PH is still growing, but its mission is already clear, to use technology not only to teach words, but to help Filipinos rediscover the languages connecting them to family, community, and culture.

Download Wika PH now.
https://apple.co/4xbluwt

15/09/2026

🎤 Support our Harana Champion! 🎤

Some of you will remember Alex C. Goal as one half of Abakada, the very first winner of Banyuhay Aotearoa's Harana Contest in 2024. Now Alex is chasing an even bigger dream, and we would love your support!

Alex has entered a singing competition and needs our votes to help make it happen. It only takes a few seconds and an account to vote.

👉 Vote here: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/pb-tech-star/1957423-JEw-IXUgud0

Let's rally behind one of our own and help share this incredible talent with the world. Every vote counts!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18tmHJ5P36/

See Alex Goal perform their entry Die On This Hill. Vote for them to WIN PB Tech Star!