Gawad Kalinga

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Charice Pempengco doesn’t cease to amaze us. The 18-year-old Filipino superstar is taking the world by storm with her awe-inspiring vocal and acting abilities — however, she still manages to make time for charities that are close to her heart, like the organization Gawad Kalinga. Read more HERE

photo credit faxiamen.com

The world’s pound for pound king, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, will be wearing yellow gloves to support an international organization based in the Philippines, Gawad Kalinga, whose aim is to end poverty in the Philippines.

The Pacman, who is taking on Sugar Shane Mosley this Saturday (Sunday in Manila) urged all his followers to wear yellow as a sign of support and unity. VP Jejomar Binay is in Las Vegas to show support for the Pacman and Gawad Kalinga Hope Ball that is as well happening in Vegas.

Philippine Information Agency

COMPOSTELA, Compostela Valley, May 1 (PIA) – The province is on its 7th Gawad Kalinga (GK) Bayani Challenge, aiming to build 38 houses in Barangay Osmeña, this town.

The teams of the summer bayani volunteer builders have started building houses on April 26, and are expected to finish construction on May 3.

At the opening ceremony, the banging of the drum signaled the start of the challenge, after which a unity dance and passing of hollowblocks (pasaload) followed as a community kick-off.

Activities for the builders are held every night, and special awards will be given at the culmination day.
The identified house beneficiaries will come from the three barangays of San Miguel, Osmeña and Poblacion, who will form the Kahiusahan SOP USWAG GK Village at Barangay Osmeña.

Said village is among the GK Villages that Governor Arturo T. Uy, together with the province’s officials, GK partners and movers are determined to put up in all the eleven municipalities of ComVal.

Uy said the province received pledges of 26 GK houses for the province during the GK Global Summit in Singapore, after rendering his favorite song “Munting Hiling,” which he said touched the hearts of the summit participants.
Recently, the ComVal Team emerged as champion for completing first the construction of their assigned house within five days at the GK National Build in Bantayan Island, Cebu.

Meanwhile, the province has agreed to host the 2012 GK National Build. It can be recalled that in 2010, the province was also the host of the Highway of Peace, an annual national GK caravan. (IDS-ComVal, Grace Almedilla/PIA-11, Carina L. Cayon)

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)

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.