In Blood Debts, we tell these stories of choices and sacrifices to pay back what we owe and pay forward something greater -- the hope for a better life. From student loans to mortgages to time spent taking care of family and community, a person’s relationship to debt is bound by both fear and duty, especially for first generation children of immigrants.

The throughline across all of these areas is debt. Yet debt is always told from the financial point of view. But debt cuts through more than that. It cuts through many industries and takes on many forms.

As a journalist, who has covered personal finance, I’ve seen firsthand how debt can change a person’s life including my own. I became an accidental homeowner at age 25. The reason was out of duty and love for my mom who paid off the house I grew up in while supporting me through school. The new debt from the mortgage was triggered by my estranged father who came back for his share of the house and collect on the debt I owed him, my life. 

This series poses thought provoking questions into people’s relationship to debt through the eyes of more than 50 Filipinos across the diaspora.

Why Filipinos? It’s rare that Filipinos are the main characters of their own narrative and Blood Debts is one space to ensure the Filipino experience is amplified and highlighted on a topic that impacts the human condition.