Carol Banawa was awarded Most Outstanding Migrant at the 2026 Global Migrant Award

Carol Banawa receives most outstanding migrant award in US

Anne Pasajol 
Inquirer.net
213 September 2026

United States-based Filipino singer and nurse Carol Banawa was honored with the Most Outstanding Migrant Award at the 2026 Global Migrant Award Heritage People’s Ball in the United States.

Banawa expressed her gratitude for the accolade through her Instagram page on Monday, Sept. 21. She accepted the recognition during the ceremony held last Saturday, Sept. 19.

“I am deeply humbled and incredibly honored to be one of the recipients of the Most Outstanding Migrant Award. To be recognized among so many inspiring individuals is a blessing I will forever cherish,” said the “Iingatan Ka” singer.

Banawa recalled leaving her showbiz career in the Philippines to move to the US in the early 2000s, admitting she initially had doubts. She also looked back at her journey in the healthcare and regarded her sacrifices as what brought her to where she is now.

“Starting over in a new country was not easy. There were moments of uncertainty, sacrifice, and countless long days, but I believed that every new beginning could lead to a greater purpose,” she wrote.

The singer thanked her family including her husband, Ryan; their children Chelsea, River, and Bella, whom she described as her “greatest inspiration”; and her older sister, Cherry, whom she credited for her constant support. Banawa also dedicated the award to her late parents and brother.

"As a proud Filipino, I accept this award on behalf of every migrant who has left home in search of a better future. We Filipinos carry with us the values we learned from home — humility, perseverance, faith, compassion, resilience, and hard work. Wherever life takes us, we bring those values with us and continue to serve, love, and make a difference,” she continued.

So, to anyone who is afraid to begin again, who thinks it is too late to change, or who has been told that their dreams are impossible: Never let anyone define your limits,” she said. “I stand here today as a reminder that it is never too late to begin again. With God’s grace, the love of family, and the courage to keep moving forward, anything is possible.”

Banawa earned her nursing degree in the US in 2020, then her master’s degree in 2025. /edv