By Louis Chan
ASAM NEWS
ANNA WAMBEKE was just six years old in the Philippines when she was forced to become mom to three younger siblings.
Her dad died of cancer and her mother’s schizophrenia worsened.
“Most of our lives as kids were pretty rough, but good at the same time,” said Wambeke, now 26. “It was a trying time, going from having everything to nothing. In short, it was the roughest, most traumatizing life event for us.”
She was adopted in 2007 along with her brother and sister, Christine and Ariel, to Chuck and Tina Wambeke, a couple who was then in their 40s from Bozeman, Montana. A third sibling, Lala, was adopted to relatives,
Wambeke’s is one of many adoptees who ended up in the state of Montana who shared their stories in the new Filipino Channel documentary, Lost and Found.
Filipinos comprise less than 1 percent of Montana’s population, not exactly a hotbed of Filipino/American culture.
“When I found out there was a community of Filipinos adopted into places like Montana, that opened up a curiosity,” said Steve Angeles, a correspondent for Balitang America, who produced the documentary.
Most of the adoptees featured in the special are in their 20s and have the hindsight of nearly a decade living with their new families. They overcame the challenges of adjusting to a new land and a new culture. The nearest Filipino market was nearly two hours away for many of these families. Yet with the help of Netflix and DVDs, the families have managed to build a sense of Filipino culture.
“It does come with cultural and identity challenges but then again their birth country didn’t give them much of a chance,” Angeles said. “They’ve lost a lot at a young age, so as long as there was a family willing to love them and care for them as their own unconditionally, then why not.”
The Wambeke children spent six years at Samaritan’s Place, an orphanage in the Philippines, before being adopted through the Summer Miracles/Sacred Portion Children’s Outreach program founded by Jan and Craig Druckenmiller. Under Philippine law, they could not be adopted by an international family until efforts to adopt them in the Philippines were exhausted.
“My life has changed dramatically, from losing everything to having it all over again with the new family,” said Anna. “If it wasn’t for my loving parents, I wouldn’t be here at all. I probably would have ended up being a mess with no direction in life, but with the compassion and support from Chuck and Tina, I no longer have to worry about taking care of my siblings or being a parent to them. Now I can enjoy being a child and a big sister more than their “mom”.
Lost and Found was shot by 2017 Northern California Emmy-award winning videographer Jeremiah Ysip. Sticking a lens into the faces of people with a very personal story to tell comes with its challenges. It was both Ysip and Angeles’ job to make the families feel comfortable enough to share a wide range of experiences ranging from painful to joyous.
“I like talk to our subjects, get to know them, allow them to get to know me, and from there I gain their trust,” said Ysip. “Once I establish a connection, from there the story unravels at its most truthful form with nothing held back. As long as I’m real with them, then they will be real with me. Trust and genuine interest in their lives allowed them to open their souls to us.”
Today Anna is the mother of two children, Benjamin, 8 months; and Evelyn, 2. She is now planning a June wedding to her boyfriend, Mateo.
“I’m thankful for the past I’ve had, it has kept my tradition, patriotism, and love for Filipino food very much in my heart. I miss my family, but having two makes my life even more blessed. I’m so thankful, now having my own kids I want to make sure that they are loved and to build a better future with them.”
Lost and Found can be seen on The Filipino Channel on Saturday, March 17 at 4:25 p.m. After that, The Filipino Channel hopes to submit it to film festivals around the country.
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