Gawad Kalinga

by Mai Gevera

DAVAO CITY, April 22 (PIA) – Team Comval championed in house building as the team finished first in building a house in barely five days in the recently held 6th National GK Build at Bantayan Island, Cebu.

Gawad Kalinga is a partner of the administration of President Benigno Aquino III in building houses for the homeless poor. Local government units also embraced the GK way of house building as their strategy in helping the poor build a home.
The 6th GK Bayani Challenge 2011 is a 5 day journey of love of God and country towards rebuilding a nation through building of homes, island greening, farm build, health mission, school build and paraisong pambata. Last April 4-9, about 1,700 volunteers rocked Bantayan Island and built hope and new found relationship with the people of Sta. Fe, Madridejos and Bantayan.

For the province of Compostela Valley, this has been the priority project of teh current administration embracing the GK way to provide houses especially those who have been victims of landslide and other calamities.
Provincial USWAG-GK Coordinator Raul Timogtimog said that Team Comval has had a good experience in building houses in the past.

The staging of the GK Build was held in the three towns of Bantayan. Twenty houses were built in Madridejos where Team Comval was stationed. Eight houses were built in Bantayan while the town of Sta. Fe was made as the base camp for Bayani Builders.

Aside from the House Build, there were other activities initiated in said period such as the Farm Build, Island Greening, Repair and Repainting of Schools, Medical Mission and others.

Country’s leading educational institutions also sent their entries for the 6th National GK Build like the Ateneo de Manila University, De la Salle University and Siliman University. Some teams from the international community like United States of America, Australia and Singapore also joined the competition.

These are among the official entries sent by 30 provinces nationwide.

Of all entries, only Team Comval finished building a house within five days as set by the contest organizers.
The said competition is in line to Gawad Kalinga’s vision called GK20124, a 21-year vision which provides the roadmap towards a First World Philippines. The emerging Asian model for development is unveiled to the world at the first GK Global Summit in Boston, with friends from India and Columbia in attendance to see how this Asian model for development can be adopted to end poverty in other developing nations in the world. (PIA-11/Mai Gevera/PR)