Hamburg-
Ambassador Melita S. Sta. Maria-Thomeczek, along with Father Simon Boiser SVD of the Philippine Catholic Mission in Hamburg and Pastor Joel Ciprez of the World International Ministries, led the opening ceremonies for the 2nd Basketball Tournament at the Sporthalle in Hamburg. The activity, which brought together Catholic and non-Catholic Filipinos in Hamburg, featured five competing teams, including one from Belgium. Members of the Federation of Filipino Organizations in Northern Germany helped organize the tournament.
Ambassador Melita S. Sta. Maria-Thomeczek poses with the Filipino community during the opening rites of the Basketball Tournament in Hamburg. Ambassador Thomeczek is joined by Pastor Joel and Father Simon Boisier.
During her opening remarks, Ambassador Sta. Maria-Thomeczek thanked the leaders, especially Father Boiser and Pastor Joel, for their efforts in enhancing solidarity in the Filipino community. Afterwards, the Ambassador met with the leaders of the Filipino community in a separate session and explained the mandate of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, particularly in pursuing the three pillars of foreign policy. She encouraged the leaders to contribute to these efforts, especially in creating the conditions to ease the lives of Filipinos overseas. After the sharing session, Ambassador Sta. Maria-Thomeczek responded to questions from the audience.
There are over a thousand Filipinos based in Hamburg, according to the latest figures from the German Federal Statistics Office (1,130). The community in Hamburg is very well-organized, with around twenty organizations, including, among others, the Federation of Filipino Organizations in Northern Germany e.V., Mindanao Solid Group, Carinosa Group Germany e.V., Philippinisch Frauen-Gruppe e.V., Kayumanggi Bayanihan Group, Couples for Christ, and Order of the Knights of Rizal, among others. Leaders of some of these groups also took the opportunity to share their plans with the Ambassador.
