SURREY, British Columbia -- Jagrup Brar admitted he had an inkling that a group of well-wishers from the Filipino community was planning to visit him in his constituency office in Fleetwood on Thursday (February 9) afternoon.
But the behemoth Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) did not know he would be serenaded by two famous Filipino-Canadian teens and presented with a scrapbook by the president of the Surrey Philippine Independence Day Society (SPIDS) in a brief ceremony. Brar, who represents the Surrey-Fleetwood in the Parliament, has been dominating newspaper and TV headlines since the conclusion of his 31-day sojourn as homeless resident living on the province's monthly rate last January 31.
Narima Dela Cruz, SPIDS president and founding director, led a small group from the Filipino community to honour Brar "for your exemplary deed and for giving us inspiration."
SCRAPBOOK
Dela Cruz, a successful realtor and civic leader, presented Brar with a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings and journals she compiled since the start of Brar's symbolic act of fighting poverty by living on a $610 welfare fund whole month of January 2012."What you did I can not describe in words," Brar told Dela Cruz at the conclusion of the ceremony. "This means you are telling me that what I did was right.""This is nothing compared to what you did," retorted Dela Cruz, whose 11-year-old daughter, Glisha, sang Mandi Moore's "Only Hope" dedicated to the New Democratic Party (NDP) stalwart from Fleetwood.New York-bound Nhemy JJ Cepeda Jr. completed the tribute by belting Mariah Carey's "Hero".
Ruby Bhandal, Brar's constituency assistance, said the MLA was touched by the gesture of Dela Cruz's group. "Coming from your community, this gesture is really something," she commented.
CHALLENGE
Brar's month-long experiment was part of the Welfare Challenge to all MLAs put forward by a Vancouver-based group called Raise the Rates."It took us three months to figure out what this was all about," said Brar who explained that seventy percent of the people were asking him why he did the challenge."I asked the opinion of my daughter, Noor, who told me, 'I think you should do it and make a difference,'" Brar added. "My staff also pushed me to do it."Brar also spoke of the myriad painful stories he has heard over the last month. Brar disclosed that in British Columbia, 319,000 or 64 percent of the 500,000 people living below poverty line are working in poverty. Of this number, 96,000 are living with disability. The government is spending $70 million a year to help people secure jobs, he said.
EXPERIENCE
"Because of that experience (31-day journey), I was able to tell about the poverty which was somewhat difficult at times. But the next part, which is making a positive change in the lives of those living in poverty, is going to be the hardest, I know that. But we can't afford not to do anything," he narrated.Born in India, Jagrup was a member of the Indian National Basketball team and earned a master’s degree in Philosophy. He then moved to Canada to study at the University of Manitoba where he earned a Master's degree in Public Administration, MPA. Brar moved to British Columbia from Winnipeg 16 years ago. Since then, Brar and his family have put down strong roots in Surrey.
PUBLIC
For over a decade, Brar worked in the public and non-profit sectors, assisting professionals with career development and working with employers to develop strategies to recruit a highly-skilled, multicultural workforce. As the Executive Director of the Surrey Self Employment and Entrepreneur Development Society (SEEDS), Brar trained new entrepreneurs to develop and launch successful small business ventures.Also present during the program were Miss Pacific North west Junior Teen Erika Teguibon, Carmencito Palomares-Schijven, PNT Idol's Nemecio Cepeda Sr., FYE Live's Jerry "PapaBear" Legaspi who acted as emcee, Rotary Club of Surrey Fraser Heights president Kuldip K. Ardawa, Engr. Joel Dela Cruz, among other guests.
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