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MY WIFE, Farida, and I, and several friends from across the USA, attended the Gawad Kalinga Global Summit in Harvard in Boston June 12-14, 2009, which was graced by hundreds of Filipinos and some Philippine government officials and NGOs.
Gawad Kalinga or GK for short, which means ?to give care,? was initiated by Couples for Christ in 1995 in the largest squatter area of Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, a breeding ground for drug pushers and drug addicts, thieves. sundry law-breakers, and tough guys. The program was a big success.
Following the completion of the first GK village in Dumaguete in 2002, the GK villages (with 30 to 50 or more houses each) has mushroomed into more than 900 communities around the nation, serving more than 200,000 families, with spectacular homes, reminiscent of colorful houses in the village of Borano, in Venice, Italy.
Championed by marketing specialist and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga, which aims to alleviate poverty among our neglected, marginalized, and disadvantaged fellow Filipinos, is now a ?pandemic,? spreading across the globe.
The GK philosophy of personal, corporate, and societal responsibility and commitment to be our brothers? keepers, for those with the most to embrace those with the least, has taken solid root, not only in our own country, but among compassionate people around the world.
The GK bug is obviously more infectious than the H1N1 virus, because it affects not only the body of the people, but their mind, heart, and soul, and their community.
At this global summit were selfless patriots from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, China, South America, Canada, and the United States, all coming together to break bread and renew their common vow to extend their hand to the poor and the hungry in their own corner of humanity.
The GK envisions a slum-free and squatter-free Philippines by 2024. Food for the hungry, home for the homeless, land for the landless for the poorest of the poor are not the only goals of GK, for it does not want to breed a welfare state of dependence, irresponsibility, and never-ending shame. Gk is, indeed, in the business of building not only houses but communities, social values, and human dignity.
The GK program also seeks to provide schooling for the children and education for the parents about family obligations and proper home care, social and environmental responsibilities, independence, productivity, and business entrepreneurship. This unique humanitarian endeavor is geared to serve all our poor fellowmen, from the northern tip of Luzon to the southern border of Mindanao, bridging the gap among all people of all faith and religion across the Philippines.
Taking the poor out of the gutter of poverty is not enough. Providing them the opportunity to climb out of the pit of shame and indignity, hopelessness and desperation, for them to regain their self-esteem, faith in themselves and in their fellowmen, self-respect, honor, dignity and hope are the ultimate objectives of Gawad Kalinga. Indeed, from its original thrust, the GK Way has evolved into a holistic solution to the curse of poverty and social injustice.
The overwhelming response from Filipinos and corporations in the Philippines and from the Filipinos abroad, many of them physicians in the United States, has energized the GK into a powerful whirlwind of national transformation, an unstoppable tsunami of compassion and goodwill which has inspired even people in other nations. This is people power at its noblest.
That the GK Way has also started to spill over and infect politicians and may one day soon cleanse the political landscape in the Philippines to pave the way for good governance is evident. Today, several political leaders, from Malacañang to the governors of provinces and mayors of cities and towns around the country, hold their commitment to GK as a badge of honor. Someday soon, perhaps, no candidate shall feel secure running for office without this GK badge of integrity for good governance.
The massive cancer of graft and corruption among many of our government officials, the brutal rape of our nation and our people by our very own leaders, have brought the Philippines to the brink of bankruptcy, dragging down our country second to the last in the economic rung, just above Bangladesh.
Blessed with rich natural resources and a most literate people, the Philippines, which was second only to Japan half a century ago, is today in a sad and deplorable state of devastation, where social justice is yet a dream and where more than 25 percent of the people are languishing in abject poverty. This shameful reality is a clear testament of our grave mistake in repeatedly electing into office, term after term, the plundering majority in our government. When shall we learn and stop hurting ourselves and putting an end to this masochism in us as a people?
The Filipino United Network (USA), one of a dozen of Philippine advocacy groups overseas, has launched two years ago a moral crusade against poverty and graft and corruption in the Philippines, championing the cause of GK and advocating good governance and ethical leadership, (www.FUN8888.com). FUN (USA) aims to provide support, inspiration, and hope for our people.
On the horizon, we see refreshing providential signs that augur hope amidst our desperation. Our people, especially the youth of the land, appear to be waking up from the bad nightmare that has gripped our nation for so long.
Sweeping the country is a moral force for good governance (Kaya Natin!, Kilos Na!) championed by leaders, like Governors Eddie Panlilio (Pampanga), Grace Padaca (Isabela), Teddy Baguilat (Ifugao), Mayors Jesse Robredo (Naga), Sonia Lorenzo (San Isidro, NE), Fermin Manulo (San Fernando, CamSur), Florante Gerdan (Sta. Fe, NV), Roque Versoza, Jr. (Tagudin, Ilocos Sur), Marivic Belena (San Jose, NE), Mary Jane Ortega (Ex, San Fernando, La Union), Gloria Congco (Ex, Cabiao, NE), Valente Yap (Vice, Bindoy, Negros Or), and others.
With the people?s support, these leaders of transparency and accountability, and others like them, could sweep the nation clean of graft and corruption, and transform the Philippines into a nation of social justice, integrity, dignity, peace, prosperity, honor, and pride.
Indeed, the national election in 2010 is an historic opportunity to realize our vision and dream for our country and accomplish the much-needed change in the Philippines. It will show the world if we, Filipinos, are wiser and smarter now, having learned our lesson from the past, from one as recently as 2004, or, if we are simply too dumb and too stupid for our own good.
