Gawad Kalinga

By Marjorie Ann Duterte

BICOL region – Bayan-Anihan, GK’s food sufficiency program, held a successful Goodbye Gutom day on July 24, 2010 at GK Bongliw, Puro Obias Hernandez village in San Jose, Camarines Sur. The event brought together Bayan-Anihan’ s multi-sectoral partners from the government, corporations, academe, the private sector and the GK kapitbahayan (community).

Mayor Antonio Chavez welcomed the hunger warriors to his town while Pilipinas Shell Foundation program manager Pam Castro affirmed their partnership with BA as one of the programs that Shell greatly believes in, for providing the sustainable solution to hunger in the Philippines.

Ronnel Lucero from the GK Bongliw community shared how having his own farm-plot augmented the needs of his family. He said that he no longer had to borrow to buy food since his family can already harvest vegetables from their own farm. Whatever expenses he saves on food, Kuya Ronnel uses for the education of his children and to pay for the motorcycle he uses for his work as a door-to-door salesman.

Department of Agriculture chief field operations OIC Rose Imperial also graced the event. “Being mandated to produce more food, we cannot do this without our partnership with Bayan-Anihan, ” she said. GK Bayan-Anihan and the Agriculture Department were able to build 400 farms in 2009 which yielded 65,000 metric tons of vegetables. They are now targeting to build 1,000 farms in 2011 to feed 500,000 people for life.

“With Bayan-Anihan, we are able to set higher targets, for a hunger-free CamSur, of the 45 GK Shell farms in the Bicol Region, 23 can be found here,” shared Ms. Imperial.

“The war against hunger has begun. We are marching towards a hunger-free Philippines, ” she said. The Agriculture Department provides the GK communities with seedlings, fruit-bearing trees, medicinal plans and fertilizers.

The Central Bicol State University of Agriculture represented by Professor Jess Oses related how their students lived for 6 weeks in the GK communities as part of their course to share and apply their knowledge with the GK kapitbahayan. He rleated that faculty members and their students felt the relief that GK families expressed in having their own Bayan-Anihan farms.

Delia Hernandez Aladin, shared on behalf of the Obias family who donated the 1.3 hectares land to the GK community encouraging the residents to take care of their farms, so that they will not be hungry again.

Gawad Kalinga father Tony Meloto noted that we are now preparing for the next generation. “Ang pagbabago ng Pilipinas ay nasa pamamagitan ng pagmamahal, tiwala at pagkakaisa.” (Change in the Philippines will come through love, trust and unity).

“Ito po ay pagmamahal sa Diyos, pagmamahal sa bayan. Pangarap natin hanggang 2024, in 6 years we will end hunger,” he said. (This is love for God, love for country. Our dream is until until 2024, in 6 years we will end hunger).

“This is now the season of hope, we will bring the country out of hunger, out of endlessness, and out poverty,” Meloto declared.

Goodbye Gutom day which happened simultaneously in 4 sites namely Camarines Sur, Tarlac, Davao and Bacolod, ended with a symbolic soil ceremony where the people grabbed soil with their hands and made the oath of commitment to carry on the movement’s ideals and aspirations by serving as sources of inspiration, encouraging more and more people to join in the country’s fight against hunger.

PIA Press Release
2010/07/19

original link : http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p100719.htm&no=22

Pagadian City (19 July) — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has assisted 20 sites for the Gawad Kalinga – Bayan Anihan or GK-BA project. The assistance of 16 bags of organic fertilizer, assorted vegetable seeds, seedling trays, weighing scale, fruit trees, and medicinal/culinary plants were provided through the DA High Value Commercial Crops program (HVCC).

During the delivery of services in Barangay Sumagdang in Isabela City last month, Ms Ana S. Aying, the DA GK-BA Focal person, said that the delivery of services in all 20 sites in region IX started in February this year after launching of the Gawad Kalinga housing project last year.

“The GK Villages are now established and as support to the relocated families, the DA will be the lead agency to provide a sustainable livelihood to feed their families. We have completed the delivery of seeds in all 20 sites this month,” she said.
The GK Bayan Anihan farm sites are located in Labuan, Mampang, Tulungatung in Zamboanga City; Titay, Buug, Ipil, Malangas in Zamboanga Sibugay; Pagadian, Aurora, Mahayag, Molave in Zamboanga del Sur; Dapitan, Mutia, Godod, Liloy in Zamboanga del Norte; and Sumagdang in Isabela City.

According to DA Regional HVCC banner Coordinator Marcial B. Fantone, there is a target of establishing 2,500 BA farms for the next three years that can feed half million Filipinos for life. He said the required area of 10 sq.m. plot per family can yield up to 10kgs of vegetables per month. “We hope that the families will sustain the BA farms and expect around 70% of those who planted to continue planting in the years to come. They will become self-sufficient enough to be able to grow their own seeds/ seedlings and produce their own organic fertilizer,” said Fantone.

The Bayan Anihan, translated in English as “Community Harvest” is a project in partnership between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Gawad Kalinga (GK) to address the growing issues of hunger. It is powered by multi-sectors including local government units, the Association of Colleges of Agriculture in the Philippines (ACAP), non-government organizations (NGOs), corporations and Couples for Christ. It aims to address hunger of one family at a time by setting up sustainable food programs in impoverish communities, with the battlecry “Goodbye Gutom!” (Goodbye Hunger). It also intends to raise awareness on the hunger issue and encourage everyone to help in the fight against hunger.
The Gawad Kalinga was founded on December 26, 1995 when the Couples For Christ (CFC) Youth for Christ, the youth ministry of CFC, held a Youth Camp for the out-of-school youth of Bagong Silang, Caloocan City in Metro Manila. In 1999, the first GK house was built for the Adduro family, also in Bagong Silang. “Gawad Kalinga,” which translates in Filipino language to “Give Care.”

On February 25, 2006, GK launched the “One Million Builders”, also known as GK1MB campaign. It was an advocacy for intensified volunteerism in GK sites, with the goal of mobilizing at least one million GK volunteers. That year also started the GK1MB Bayani Challenge, a one-week national immersion. The Bayani Challenge was held in Aurora Province, and Quezon province (2006); Albay, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Marinduque and Samar (2007); Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur (2008) and Sulu and Zamboanga City (2009).