AWPI HISTORY
One of the resolutions in the consultation done among artist-leaders who attended the Ikatlong Tagpo: 3rd National Theater Festival held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in 2004 was to address the welfare needs of the artists, especially those who, since the Martial law Days, have unselfishly dedicated their lives to arts and cultural work, and have contributed immense
ly to the toppling of the dictator and to liberating the Filipino people from an oppressive administration. Many of these artists and cultural workers are now in their senior years, with many of them not prepared for old age, when they have already become sickly, with no savings, no house of their own, no social security benefits, no retirement benefits. In the succeeding years, 2005-2007, it became almost a regular occurrence that the members of the artistic community would be informed that a colleague has a debilitating disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, aneurysm, heart enlargement, blocked arteries, or that another artist passed away leaving huge hospital bills and with no funds for burial. The artistic community, being generally, a compassionate, caring community, would "pass the hat" to collect donations. After a series of fund collection and fund raising for the sick, the dying and the dead, a group of concerned artists decided to form the ARTISTS WELFARE PROJECT INC (AWPI) in 2007. Its main reason for being is precisely to spearhead a campaign and implement a program to address the welfare needs of the old members of the artistic community, while also teaching and preparing the younger members of the artists' sector to take care of their present and future needs.
