THE GREATEST VALENTINE’S GIFT FOR THE PEOPLE OF BUTUAN
by admin on Feb.13, 2011, under Volunteer Support
By: Seth Claire R. Sanchez, GK Volunteer
What will it take to ask a person upfront to give a hundred thousand pesos with completely no favor in return? I’m sure you would say that only a fool would hand over a thousand bucks more so a hundred thousand pesos at that. I would have thought the same if it had happened seven (7) years ago when all the while, I thought that caring and sharing were the farthest things in rich man’s mind. But not on the night of February 12, 2011, a night so heartwarming that it took one single, pure hearted mayor of Butuan City, Mayor Jun Amante and an organization with purest of intention, Gawad Kalinga, to ask businessmen, entrepreneurs, politicians, professionals and respected individuals of Butuan City to share their resources, give or pledge a house costing almost a hundred thousand pesos that will be built through bayanihan for a family who’s always on harm’s way living along the riverbanks of the mighty Agusan River, with completely no strings attached. I say so heartwarming because in a span of just a little more than three (3) hours, the very first GK Builder’s Night of Butuan City was able to receive pledges of more than seventy (70) homes from the invited individuals, to translate that in peso terms would mean more that 6.5 million pesos of money given not out of selfish reasons but more on selfless reasons. Isn’t that great news to our brethren living in the riverbanks of the Agusan River, that despite its being majestic and serene, it has always been a source of fear and threat in the lives of our less fortunate Butuanons. Isn’t that a concrete manifestation of how caring and generous well off Butuanons are to their fellow Butuanons in dire need of a safe place to be home at night with their families? Wouldn’t you call that the greatest gift one can give in this season of love? You be the judge.
February 20th, 2011 on 11:43 am
Dear Seth,
Thank you for writing this article.
God Bless You! And God Bless Gawad Kalinga!
Jojo
February 20th, 2011 on 9:40 pm
You’re welcome…
February 21st, 2011 on 7:11 am
The Lord gave us two great commandments, love for God and love for our neighbor. He also said “whatever you do to the least of your brothers, you do it unto me”. I think the remarkable work of Gawad Kalinga is the very essence of the Lord’s teaching. It is sharing our time, talent and treasure to the less fortunate. We are very fortunate to experience and witness the joy in the beautiful faces of these poor people when their lives, dignity and spirituality were uplifted. Having a very simple and decent home is already an abundant blessings for them.