Positively Filipino | Everyday Heroes

What Makes a Change Maker?

Petra Durrance: Healer, Educator and Activist

Petra Durrance at her home in Shawnigan Lake where I reached her. Photo by author.

The Everyday Heroes series is a curation of interviews and articles written for Positively Filipino, a premier digital native magazine celebrating the stories of Filipinos in the diaspora of nearly 13 million expatriates.

She was born under the indigenous name of Lewhisan. I fondly call her Manang Pet. Petra stands at only 4’10” but is a formidable force. She was born in the tribal lands of Northern Luzon among the Tulgao. Her father was blind. Petra has eight siblings, three boys, five girls; she’s the sixth. Her mother, Charay, was the eldest among a brood of five: Charay, Uncles Angwhatang and Ongat Chibaray (a childless aunt), and Aunt Luvai.

As a young girl, Petra rotated living with them. Her Uncle Angwhatang, a basket weaver, later personally brought her to Sagada to live and learn at the Anglican orphanage. The journey was a five-hour hike and five-hour bus ride from her village. At the orphanage, the Anglicans named her Petra Glory.

Petra’s life took a dramatic turn when, close to finishing high school, she crossed paths with David Durrance, a biology teacher and a real estate speculator from Victoria, Canada, who was touring Asia. A social worker at…