Gawad Kalinga

http://www.malaya.com.ph

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and one of the world’s largest express transportation company, and nonprofit organization Gawad Kalinga (GK) recently celebrated the successful completion of another school year for over 200 FedEx-Gawad Kalinga Sibol preschool students. The “moving up” ceremonies heralded the students’ advancement to the next level of their education.

For five years, more than 1,000 children aged 3 to 6 years have been given access to quality, values-based education through the Sibol school program. FedEx supports this program in eight Gawad Kalinga communities – Parañaque, Zambales, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Sultan Kudarat, and Bukidnon. The program encourages skills development and values formation among these children as they prepare for primary education.

FedEx funded the employment of school teachers as well as the construction and operation of eight FedEx-GK Sibol Schools.

FedEx employee volunteers play an active role in improving the lives of the children and their communities. The volunteers helped construct the schools and organize regular educational and community development activities to complement the overall curriculum.

In 2010, FedEx volunteers organized an eco tour for the Sibol children at the Avilon Zoo in Rizal, allowing them to experience nature first-hand and learn about environmental conservation. FedEx also conducted the “FedEx Eco Express” program, where a FedEx truck delivered plants and a team of volunteers to a GK community. The volunteers helped the children clean up their schools, and taught them how waste segregation, recycling and collaboration are important elements of an environmentally sustainable community.

photo credit philstar.com

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)

Marian Z. Codilla
Cebu Daily News

original link here

Imagine yourself and your family living in a pigpen.

This was the everyday reality lived in by 45-year-old Crispin Floro, who had to endure the ridicule and the pain he and his family experienced from neighbors and classmates.

Floro said it got so bad that some of his kids stopped going to school and married early so they can get out of the pigpen that became their home.

Two of his children got married while four others including a deaf mute son were with his wife Rosa.

Before the pigpen, Floro’s family lived in a dilapidated shanty in Dumanjug town, southern Cebu.

Floro worked as a family helper and a barangay tanod while his wife is a hat maker.

When his boss closed his piggery, Floro asked that his family stay there for a while until he could save for a decent home.

The owner agreed to let them stay for free but later told him to rent the place.

“Paet kaayo ning pobre ta. Usahay ang akong mga anak muingon ngano wala gyud ko maka pangita og tarong-tarong nga balay para namo (Being poor is quite bitter. Sometimes the children would ask why I can’t find a better home for us),” he said, wiping his tears.

When he learned about the Gawad Kalinga project in Dumanjug town, he immediately applied for it hoping he could get his family out of the pigpen they lived in.

He cried in joy when his prayers were answered.

Gawad Kalinga, with the help of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) brought in 18 youths from Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands to help build houses for the chosen beneficiaries.

Last Wednesday, Floro and five other beneficiaries were given the keys to their unfinished houses in JP Garcia Gawad Kalinga Village by the Gawad Kalinga and RAFI officials and representatives from the Pinoy-Dutch Explorer program.

The 908 hectare property donated to Gawad Kalinga now has 28 low cost houses.

Community organizer Boy dela Cerna said they still have to build 20 more housing units.

The village will also house a multi-purpose building and school for children.

The beneficiaries were also each given a 10-square meter farming plot where they can plant vegetables for their food.

Floro said he doesn’t mind having a small house.

“So long as we don’t have to live in a pigpen anymore,” he told CEBU DAILY NEWS.

Gawad Kalinga founder Tony Meloto said their work of building houses means creating social and environmental opportunities for the less fortunate as well as instilling honesty and integrity.

“You don’t just promise them hope but let them see the hope,” he said.

Meloto said Gawad Kalinga served as a bridge for investment and an inspiration to other countries like Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, and Indonesia to build their own villages.

Aileen Ong, a former music teacher in Singapore, left his teaching career to help GK in the Philippines.

She was moved by what she saw in the country’s squatter areas.

“I can see hope in Philippines. I believe that the Philippines can end poverty by 2024, I do hope the Filipino people also believe,” Ong said.

In Cebu, GK has built 11 villages with more than 500 houses.

GK-Cebu head Jerome Awit said they will build a two storey condominium with 86 units in barangay Lorega, Cebu City by September.

They will also build 150 houses in Bantayan as a preparation for the “Bayanihan Challenge” in April next year.

Work is ongoing for 150 houses in a GK village in Minglanilla town.

“Gawad Kalinga transformed residents from productive people instead of adding criminals. GK is slowly diminishing the poverty situation here in Cebu,” Awit told CEBU DAILY NEWS. Interested volunteers may contact GK-Cebu at 505-6780. With Fatrick Tabada, USJR intern

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.