Gen. Taguba stresses need to prepare for elderly parents’ care

AARP Community Ambassador Gen. Tony Taguba addressed the crowd at Fiesta in America, the largest indoor gathering of Filipino Americans on the East Coast. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

WASHINGTON, DC — Retired Army Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba led a discussion about caregiving at the Fiesta in America on Saturday, August 16 in the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Nearly 18,000 visitors attended Fiesta in America celebrating Filipino, Asian and Latino cultures August 16 to 17, making it the largest annual indoor cultural, entertainment and food festival for Filipino Americans on the East Coast.

After his elderly parents became ill, Taguba and his siblings were ill-prepared to care for them. Faced with tough decisions about their declining health and dwindling finances, they managed to care for them the best they could.

To help others, Gen. Taguba became an AARP Community Ambassador to advocate for caregivers and their families. AARP was a Silver Sponsor of the 16th Fiesta in America.

“If I did my due diligence before this happened, perhaps my family would have been better served by the information AARP had. We could have planned something better,” he said in retrospect.

“We applaud AARP for their commitment to helping Filipino Americans and their families and are thrilled that they joined our event as a first-time sponsor this year,” said Fernando Mendez, President of the Philippine Fiesta USA, Inc., the organizer of Fiesta in America.

“With their generous support, we will continue to expand our special seminar series on business, investment, and self-improvement information and opportunities for our attendees.”

For more information about how AARP helps Asian American & Pacific Islander families get more out of life, visit www.AARP.org/AAPI, www.facebook.com/AARPAAPICommunity and www.twitter.com/AARPAAPI.