Our Story
Pinoy Stop is the brainchild of a couple who were once inexperienced immigrants, blindly finding their way through the new surroundings and culture they found themselves into when they set foot in New Zealand.
During those days, they found help in the kindness of strangers, online acquaintances, and newfound friends to help them learn the ins and outs of their new home. Bayanihan, they soon found, is well and trully alive in the hearts of Pinoys in New Zealand.
This is the same spirit which becomes the motivation for this site to be created. This is a way of paying back the kindness of the people who have offerred their time and effort to the creators of this site. This is also a good way of extending their help to those they can’t physically reach.
Pinoy Stop started in 2012 using a free site creator. Most of the information during the early days of Pinoy Stop was specific to Wellington. It has since acquired its own domain and the site had since expanded its contents to the whole of New Zealand with more information, data, facts, historical snapshots, etc.
Our Aims
We, at Pinoy Stop, aim to preserve and honour our Filipino values and traditions by going back and reconnecting with our Filipino roots through the following:
– Help in educating modern Filipino children by sharing stories of their past experiences growing up in the Philippines;
– Share Filipiniana articles and information that we find essential in helping Filipino kids of today, especially the ones who grew up and have been raised in another country, to reconnect with their Filipino roots.
Helping Filipino migrants to familiarize and “kiwinize” themselves in New Zealand is another aim of Pinoy Stop. We aim to become a singular point of reference for Pinoys in New Zealand, providing them with the following:
– Information on upcoming Filipino-related events and gatherings in New Zealand;
– Kiwiana trivias and information;
– Public service information (i.e. emergency services and contacts);
– Provide tips in settling in New Zealand (i.e. links to organizations, travel tips, etc.);
– And many more.
We hope in our own little way, we are able to help.
It goes without saying that by creating and researching articles, we also learn a lot. Pinoy Stop allows us to refresh our knowledge of the Philippines (Filipiniana) and expand it by learning that of New Zealand’s (Kiwiana). It is, however, by no means perfect and free of errors.
We will endeavour to provide information as accurate as we can, and we apologize for any errors or inconsistencies. We encourage our followers to provide feedback when such is noticed. We will correct inaccurate posts as we see fit.
Our Name (Why Pinoy Stop?)
Pinoy /ˈpɪnɔɪ/
adjective
relating to the Philippines or the Filipinos. (“Pinoy food”)
noun
a person of Filipino origin or descent; a Filipino. (“The team was met by local officials and fellow Pinoys wanting to lend their support.”)
Stop /stɒp/
noun
a place where trains or other vehicles halt to take on and discharge passengers. It is also a word that can be attributed to the word “tambayan” or hangout.
We relate “Pinoy Stop” to a place where Pinoys can visit or hangout to find information that can assist and help them in adjusting to their new home (New Zealand) and reconnect with their Philippine roots. It envisions to become a one stop information site for Filipinos living in New Zealand –
– Where references unique to Filipino migrants, and more, can be found; and
– Where children of Filipino descent can find materials that will help them understand their roots.
Pinoy Stop website is a work in progress and it continues to evolve and expand.
Past Projects:
Through the years, we were able to spearhead a number of projects that embodied our vision:
– 2016 Young Pinoy Artists’ Festival (June 2016) – Art Exhibit and Silent auction. Participated by Wellington-based Filipino kids aged 5-16 years old. This initiative was launched by PinoyStop to recognise the sea of young talents we have in NZ, provide opportunity, experience and exposure for young Pinoy artists in NZ, promote our Philippine culture through visual arts, and encourage Filipino kids to help NZ charities.
– Mini – Santacruzan sa Wellington 2014 (May 2014) – Kids and teens participating in a mini-parade to offer flowers to the Virgin Mary; Helps to provide Filipino kids in Wellington a first-hand experience of one of the famous tradition in the Philippines – Santacruzan; Also helps to educate the kids of what Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan is all about.
– Poster-making Competition “Proudly Pinoy in the Land of the Long White Clouds” (December 2013) – This competition aims to promote our Filipino culture and heritage to Filipino youths in Wellington by engaging them to express their creativity through poster-making.
– Kids’ Artworks for the 2013 Philippine Independence Day celebration (June 2013) – Promoting awareness of the Philippine Independence Day celebration to kids in Wellington.