Helen Toribio Kapwa Fellowship

The Helen Toribio Kapwa Fellowship is being inaugurated in 2025 to support the work of Filipino and Filipino-American writers and activists in the United States. The fellowship is funded by a generous gift from an anonymous donor who was inspired by the experience of organizer/writer Christine Cordero, a 2024 resident at Mesa Refuge. Christine, in turn, was inspired by the work of the late Helen Toribio, an activist, writer, educator and scholar, whom she first met as a student over two decades ago.

Helen Toribio, who emigrated with her family from the Philippines to Hawaii as a child, and later settled in the San Francisco Bay Area, was determined to be a change agent. She became active in the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP or Katipunan an mga Demokratikong Pilipino), an organization dedicated to fighting for the rights of Filipino immigrants and opposition to the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines. She taught in the Asian American Studies departments at San Francisco City College and San Francisco State University where she became an inspiring mentor to many students passionate about contributing to Filipino American literature and scholarship. Helen co-authored The Forbidden Book: The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons and edited the anthology Seven Card Stud with Seven Manongs Wild.  

Christine Cordero, an advocate for social and environmental justice, carried the anthology around with her for decades. While she was at Mesa, she cracked it open and was surprised to find that Helen’s story took place in Tomales Bay, beautifully weaving time, intergenerational and social justice issues in a writing style she was actively exploring in her own work. “It felt like Helen was talking to me across time and space. She and her words were waiting for me to be at Mesa and ready to explore the stories of our people – to say what needs to be said, and write the stories yet to be read.”  

In the spirit of Kapwa—the universal truth of interconnectedness and solidarity with all living beings—the fellowship is open to writers in all genres who focus on the issues to which Helen Toribio dedicated her scholarship and life. 

We are accepting applications for this fellowship now—due May 31, 2025. Email [email protected] with any questions. Submit your application here.