Thank You, Tita Vangie!

We have been blessed to be part of Tita Vangie’s world these past several years and are thrilled for her to truly begin her retirement! She remains a stalwart partner in the community and we are so grateful for the time she has given us. It has been and continues to be our privilege to work with you on the issues, Tita, to experience your joy and enthusiasm, and to receive your love and guidance during times of struggle. You are always in our hearts and in the heart of this work. We miss you, Tita Vangie, thank you for all you have done for AFIRE!

With permission, we are honored to share moments of Tita Vangie’s AFIRE journey with you. To begin with, for Evangeline Sipple, often referred to as Tita Vangie, opportunity came in passing.

“I only learned about AFIRE through Grace. I met Grace because of Divine Mercy, 2016, to be exact, Fiesta of the Divine Mercy. I saw Grace along the way and she asked me, are you a Filipina? Filipino po kayo? Sabe ko, yes, I am. And then I detected at once that the accent of Grace speaking Tagalog, she is Cebuana. So I said are you Bisayan? Yes, I am from Bohol. From then on, she invited me to Divine Mercy, and because we were already going together every weekend, that’s the time I learned about AFIRE.

She was telling me about citizenship and domestic work. I learned from her. Because that was the time they had to go to Springfield and have some rallies there. She was on the microphone, always.

The first time I attended the meeting, that was a turning point for me. I met many Filipinos, the majority were seniors, and there were also young people. I was really in love. I think I will always love this group. So from then on, every time there’s meeting, I was always there.”

Because of AFIRE’s many activities, there was a lot to understand.

“I learned a lot about the problems that the domestic workers, especially the caregivers, were facing in their work. I thought there’s no problem being a caregiver, but I learned there was a lot of problems they were facing. The treatment of some of the employers, especially of those who are not documented. They are being abused, they are paid, you know, very small. They cannot live by their salaries given. There were a lot of statements. That’s why Grace was really strong when she talked on the microphone, because she knows. When the Domestic [Worker] Bill of Rights was already, it was Grace who was always standing at the microphone, not afraid, but even the fact that she has no green card at that time, she was very brave to talk.

For a while, during weekends, I had also some experience caregiving. I was not taken advantage of, I experienced three patients… I can remember the lady. She would give me some advice. Don’t let yourself be abused by people here in America. She would tell me that.”

It was Tita Vangie’s experiences as a young professional in the Philippines that grounded her in AFIRE’s organizing work.

“At school, because we don’t have guidance counselor, I was sent by the school to study for guidance counselor. I organized the kids. Because, you know, the ratio is 1 counselor versus 800 students in one school. How can I do that? I organized the students, the top students in each section. We went for a training seminar about guidance counseling, peer counseling… I organized them in such a way that they could help me in counseling. He cannot just open it to a teacher, but, in barkada system, they can easily open up their problems. That was the job of my peer counselors. They are counseling. If students have a problem, they talk to them. If a problem is really serious, that’s the time they give the case to me. That was an organizing system. So the students, the peer counselors, would report to me every week about what they have done as peer counselors, if they have somebody. So like, when I started my work at AFIRE, it seems like I’m still in school, the helping system, it was the same.”

At AFIRE, this experience only grew further.

“When I was assigned to NAI (New Americans Initiative), that was the start. Some people already know about me, so some would call me, either me or Grace. That’s how I started to gain some friends, volunteers and clients. I had befriended so many clients, and I think I became so popular during COVID-19 when we gave help to domestic workers. It was Grace and me who did the job, we were given [funding] by the Domestic Workers Alliance from New York, a help to the domestic workers. So we have to call people, telling them they should apply for this $400, to be given freely. That’s how I gained so many friends because I’d be calling, or people would refer me to their friends and families, “Call Vangie, ask for the help”. So I recorded everything, still in my notebook, I had talked to 800+ people, giving money.

When December came, another $200 was added (from NDWA), so I have to call them again. So can you imagine, $400 + $200 times 800. (AFIRE staff: “Tita Vangie, that’s almost half a million dollars!” ES: “Yeah!”)

So from those lists, I would call them one by one, are you a citizen? Or not, you can apply. That’s how I did it before. Can you imagine, sometimes I’m already in bed, someone would text me, “Ate, give us some money”. That’s how it was before. I can really feel the need, so I cannot say no. So I have to rise and talk to them. Although there came a time I was really so tired. Then [former staff] said, “Ate, you should not do that, respect your time”. That was the first time I heard that, “respect your time”. If it’s not your time to work, do not work, do not answer your calls. I was exhausted, I said, I am so exhausted. Because you are abusing your time. But I gained so many friends. Even now, sometimes I will receive a call, “Ate, do you still have ayuda?” Ayuda is help.”

There have been many memories along the way.

“I thought it would be like a field trip. Without knowing we would be lobbying the office of the legislator. So I enjoyed, this is it! That time, we were bringing placards, many placards (provided for us by one of the staff). I was able to join. I went with [former staff]. We went to an office, [they] explained everything. I said, oh my god, this is it. I was really amazed at [them], listening to [them]. [They] really know how to talk to the legislator and the legislator was listening to [them]. I was amazed, but I did not talk, I was afraid. I just went with. So that was my personal experience, how to convince a legislator to sign.

There was a time I joined a rally or demonstration downtown. It was [former staff], me, and one volunteer. We went downtown and we paraded and passed by a legislator’s office, how many offices did we pass? We were rallying there, bringing our placards. That’s my first time [doing that]. So many people, how many? Maybe we were more than 200. It was a long parade. We were at Daley Center. We stayed long in that area, facing the building and shouting and chanting. We were chanting. We made ourselves visible if there were legislators or politicians there, we made ourselves visible because we were chanting (about immigration, if I’m not mistaken).

My first [NDWA National] Assembly was in Vegas and we stayed at the MGM, the biggest hotel. It was before COVID. I think it was February (2020) and we all already heard about this COVID thing, and then we came home, March. When we went to Vegas, there was still no COVID. It was a very memorable assembly for me. I just enjoyed the activities, there was so many activities. Our companion was, our leader was [former staff]. The two of them, and the seniors, there’s a lot. It was a big group. I enjoyed that, my first experience with the NDWA Assembly, it was really great. I cannot imagine. There were so many people, maybe we are thousands of people. Thousands of people, really. We stayed in MGM, there were many slot machines everywhere.

I befriended many, many Filipinas there. In fact, when we went home, our communication continued. These people from California, other parts of America, but most of them are from California. I learned that in California, they are very organized, there are many groups, domestic workers (most Filipinos).

I really enjoyed the different workshops [at the 2025 NDWA Assembly]. Marnie, we were always together in the workshop.That was the first time I really enjoyed the workshop because my companion was very interested. She asked so many questions and she shared many things about how we are here in Chicago as domestic workers, and how it is compared to the Philippines. She knows a lot of things about this.”

As Tita Vangie retires from AFIRE, she has some advice to share for anyone doing this work.

“Make yourself available if you have time, because there are people who needs help. Sometimes even if you cannot help them, just listen to their problem. Just listening to the problem is a help. To listen is a big help. Also, immerse yourself with the Filipino community, especially the seniors. Immerse with the people who are needing our help because this is one way of winning their hearts so that if we call for them to attend some events, they would be very eager to attend. If they have a good experience with us, they will always be looking forward to the day when they will again be invited to AFIRE.

This is the thing I told to the seniors - they said, “How can we can go to AFIRE, you are not there? I said why? I will still be there, I will be with you, this time not as a staff but as a volunteer, so you and me together, let’s go back to AFIRE and attend their events. I will not be lost, I’ll still be there, we’ll still be together. That’s what I told the GoldenAgers. “Oh, Vangie, how about the GoldenAgers, how will we continue?” We’ll still continue! I will not be working with AFIRE, but I will be their number one volunteer!

In going back to AFIRE we (GoldenAgers) will not go back there just to have fun, but we should be aware of the problems that we are facing, especially, because they are retired, but the young domestic workers are facing, and maybe as seniors we can give them some pieces of advice. That is my wish. That they can help AFIRE, by continue going, because their presence is really needed. We need them. From the word of mouth, it’s very important, because this is about experiencing, personal experience.

I am just happy during our last day, with your messages, it has touched my heart. And also the email of the board, it was very meaningful. Maybe I’ll print it out. I remember when I retired from teaching, I had so many messages from my students that I put it in an album. So if I go home, I bring this message from you and I will put it in my album in the Philippines. Every time I go home, I read the messages from my students and it gives me strength. And you, your message is really worthwhile, I will cherish it. 

Really, to tell you the truth, when I went home that day, I was crying on the bus. I called my daughter. I was crying, this is my last day. “Oh, why are you crying?” I will miss them. “Okay, let’s celebrate your retirement”, so that evening we had dinner outside.”

We’re not crying. You are. Thank you again, Tita Vangie, for all you have done for AFIRE. We can’t wait to see you again soon!