About Us
The European Network of Filipino Diaspora (ENFiD) – Germany e.V. was officially registered on December 22, 2016 with members from the Filipino communities of Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Bavaria. It was registered by the local court in the city of Bochum, which is located in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany’s most populous state. Most Filipinos in Germany live in NRW.
The organization has the following board members(2022-2024): Evelyn Müschen (Chairperson), Jeffrey Morales (Deputy Chairperson), Wendell Adrian Schardin (Secretary), Amie Kaye (Deputy Secretary). Secretary Marivic Abalos-Sossnowski (Treasurer), Josephine Vinluan Lohlein (Deputy Treasurer), Mary Grace Lugo Schardin and Marvel Markgraf Lequido Doerste, PR Officers. The are Advisory Councils Milagros Wandelt, Virgilio Cuizon and Rodrigo Maristela both former presidents of ALA EH e.V., (Association Lending Assistance in Exigencies at Home), a charity organization based in Essen that has been cited (LINKAPIL, 2006 ) for its projects in the Philippines. Both are recipients of the Philippine government’s Banaag Award, which is given to Filipino individuals or associations for their significant contributions to particular sectors or for having advanced the cause of overseas Filipino communities. Members also include graduate students, health care practitioners and media workers. The organization has its postal address in Mönchengladbach.
Most members of ENFiD-Germany are active leaders of Filipino migrants‘ organizations and Catholic communities in their respective regions
Representatives of different Filipino migrants´ organizations from the state of North Rhine Westphalia created a new ENFiD board in a meeting that was organized by Ala-Eh/ENFiD leaders Virgilio Cuizon and Oggie Maristella together with the Philippine Consulate in Essen last August 2015.
The following persons were nominated to become a part of the new body that is tasked to give shape and structure to the organizational formation of ENFiD – Germany: Tessie Wilms, Mary Lou H. Werning, Agnes Urban (absent), Mary Grace Schardin and Emmalyn L. Kotte.
Nomination was accepted by Wilms, Werning, Schardin, and Liwag Kotte. It was agreed that the nominated persons may invite honorary board members to join the group. Urban accepted nomination upon her arrival from the Philippines.
In hosting projects, ENFiD-Germany shall take note of the following:
Hosting organization is the sole project coordinator especially for finances.
Transparency in the conduct of projects should always be assured; goals and expenses should clearly be discussed with coordinators, facilitators, and all persons involved in the project; milestones and project duration have to be clearly defined
It was agreed that ENFiD-Germany should take up issues concerning overseas Filipinos in Germany. It will also motivate other Philippine migrants' organizatons in the country to join ENFiD-Germany.
The group identified its first project : the film screening of “Heneral Luna” in Germany.
The group invited Oggie Maristela, then country representative of ENFiD, and Milagros Wandelt, to become honorary board members.
The new board held its first meeting at the Domforum in Cologne on September 25, 2015.
Present: Wilms, Urban, Schardin, Kotte, Maristela. It was agreed that Emmalyn Liwag Kotte will become its chairperson/ country representative and Mary Agnes Urban its deputy chairperson.
Both will serve for a term of 2 years. It was agreed that only one representative can join the ENFiD election. In the absence of the chairperson, the deputy will represent ENFiD-Germany in the meetings. Other board members and participants can join the General Assembly but they will not be allowed to vote. Whoever will attend the GA will have to pay for his/her registration fees and other expenses unless there are enough funds collected from projects initiated by ENFiD-Germany.
Chairperson / Country Representative: Evelyn Müschen
Deputy Chairperson: Jeffrey Morales
Secretary: Wendell Adrian Schardin
Deputy Secretary: Amy Kaye
Treasurer: Marivic Mundo Abalos-Soßnowski
Deputy Treasurer: Josephine Loehlein
Public Relations Officer: Mary Grace Schardin
Deputy Public Relations Officer: Marvel Liquido Doerste
Honorary Members:
Milagros Wandelt, Virgilio Cuizon & Rodrigo Maristela
Spiritual Adviser:
Father Rodel Liguid SVD
Chairperson / Country Representative: Evelyn Müschen
Deputy Chairperson: Mary Grace Schardin
Secretary: Marivic Mundo Abalos-Soßnowski
Deputy Secretary: Ruby Anna Tupaz Bengtsson
Treasurer: Thelma Herbst
Deputy Treasurer: Dorcas Reyes Poloczek
Public Relations Officer: Tessie Wilms
Deputy Public Relations Officer: Grace Sheela Pickert
Auditor: Maite Hontiveros Dittke
Honorary Members:
Milagros Wandelt, Virgilio Cuizon & Rodrigo Maristela
Spiritual Adviser:
Father Rodel Liguid
Chairperson / Country Representative: Emmalyn Liwag-Kotte
Deputy Chairperson: Tessie Wilms
Secretary:
Deputy Secretary: Ruby Anna Tupaz Bengtsson
Treasurer: Dorcas Reyes Poloczek
Deputy Treasurer: Evelyn Alcarmen-Mueschen
Public Relations Officer: Mary Grace Schardin
Deputy Public Relations Officer: Grace Sheela Pickert
Auditor: Maite Hontiveros Dittke
Honorary Members:
Milagros Wandelt, Virgilio Cuizon & Rodrigo Maristela
True to our 2019 Team Building motto; "If you can laugh together, you can work together" the European Network of Filipino in Diaspora (ENFiD)-Germany, after the lockdowns and restrictions, modestly gathered for the Annual Meeting in Düsseldorf Art Gallery. The election of a new set of officers took place after it was postponed last year due to the pandemic. Our chairperson
Evelyn Alcarmen Mueschen accepted the nomination to continue her 2nd term and was unanimously elected. We also glad to announce that active youths were elected unanimously, as Vice Chairman Jeffrey Morales, Secretary Wendell Adrian Schardin, and Deputy Secretary Markamie De Guzman Kaye Amie Kaye. Incumbent Secretary Marivic Abalos-Sossnowski Mavs Mundo Abalos-Sossnowski accepted her new role as the Treasurer and Josephine Vinluan Jo Lohlein as Deputy Treasurer. Last but not least Vice Chairman, Mary Grace Lugo Schardin and Marvel Markgraf Lequido Marvel Doerste were delighted to work together as PR Officers for 2022-2023.
Committed to facilitating previous projects and engagements of the organization, the members agreed to focus on Education and Development especially supporting projects that empower the education of the less fortunate children in the Philippines. These include information drives for our "Kababayans" for their integration and re-integration concerns in Germany.
With this, we are grateful to our benefactors, sponsors, and volunteers. They had been the source of our motivation to continue to serve the community. We hope to work with you again, continue to empower, connect and engage!
Thank you, vielen Dank, Maraming Salamat!
ENFiD-Germany Family
In the past two years, ENFiD-Germany`s priority is to support our Kababayan back in the Philippines due to COViD-19 and natural calamities' economic challenges. Though this is one of the aims of our organization, we still wish to fulfill other purposes that we have in our Constitution and By-Laws. Hence, the decision to refocus our advocacies in our receiving country - Germany and leave the European level of ENFiD.
We thank everyone with whom we worked together in the past. We wish the organization, its members, and the Board of Directors all the best.
Here an excerpt of ENFiD-Germany e.V. Constitution and By-Laws ( purpose of the Organization);
(1)Zweck der Körperschaft ist die Förderung der philippinischen Diaspora in Europa, besonders in Deutschland und die Förderung internationaler Gesinnung, der Toleranz auf allen Gebieten der Kultur und des Völkerverständigungsgedankens, damit sie mit ihren Fähigkeiten und Kompetenzen zur sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung des Aufnahme- und Herkunftsland aktiv beitragen kann.
(2) Der Satzungszweck wird verwirklicht insbesondere durch Bildungs- und Informationsveranstaltungen sowie Ausstellungen, Vorlesungen und Vorführungen ( z.B.: Kunst Folklore, Filmvorführungen zur gesellschaftlichen und geschichtlichen Entwicklung der Philippinen als Bildungsangebot Sprachkurse, Vorbereitungsworkshop für lntegrationskurse, Unterstützung von Vereinen hinsichtlich der Zusammen arbeit im sozialen Bereich z.B. Jugend-, Senioren- und Familienhilfeprojekte) an verschiedenen Standorten in Deutschland und den Philippinen.