Like
a poignant song, I listen to the silent thoughts and
witness solid actions of Filipinos who dare to dream.
Advocates of Gawad Kalinga, a movement which rebuilds
broken lives and communities, are ordinary people who
are caring and sharing in extraordinary ways.
Seeking
out the poorest of the poor communities, Gawad
Kalinga caretakers begin an outstanding mission of
reconstructing lives by building decent, clean and
colorful homes, tending the sick, nurturing and
teaching the young, and empowering the weak. They do
not count the costs, they do not mind the years, and
do not allow the tears to stand in the way of
bringing glad tidings to the poor.
Gawad
Kalinga works with sets of 50 to 100 families and
converts them into peaceful and productive
communities inculcated with values anchored on faith
and patriotism. Starting with only one three years
ago, there are now almost 250 Gawad Kalinga
communities all over the motherland, serving as oases
amidst the aridity of poverty. And they are oases
which are designed to share their bounty of water
with whomever they can reach.
The
spectacular growth of Gawad Kalinga affirms the
inherent heroism that is the birthright of each human
being. The leaders of the movement, all amateurs in
the field of community development but all veterans
in the caring and sharing ways of a vibrant
spirituality and a native Filipino culture, are
bringing the movement towards the vision of building
700,000 homes in 7,000 Gawad Kalinga communities in 7
years, the vision known as GK 777.
It
would seem like an impossible dream, turning a seed
of love into a movement, and guiding that movement to
be the ultimate revolution - a revolution of love.
But dreams become visions when people of heart and
conviction enter into a covenant with their God and
with themselves, to go beyond imagination into action.
And GK 777 has become a vision to Gawad Kalinga
caretakers who whisper this covenant in their hearts:
“We
have a dream, a dream that beats in the hearts of
Filipinos who refuse to surrender our divine
birthright and inheritance from God – the
paradise of the tropics, the islands of the
Philippines.
We are coming from a deep sense of despondency
which has eaten into our very soul, threatening
even the indomitable optimism of a people and
culture. Extended oppression of Filipinos by
massive poverty, corruption, and criminality has
brought has brought us down to our knees and has
weakened our capacity to dream.
Weakened but not destroyed, dampened but not dead.
In our hearts, we ache for the sunlight hidden
behind the dark clouds. We long to drink from the
spring of hope, seek to nourish dimming visions
of thriving communities, happy families, and
productive citizens.
We are Filipinos who have found our dream. We
have found Gawad Kalinga, the path of
transforming the weak to be strong, the hopeless
to be confident, the broken to be whole. Gawad
Kalinga is founded on the strength of Filipino
culture, on the virtue of Filipino values, and
the power of Filipino talent.
Today, there are thousands of us dedicating our
lives to building house by house, family by
family, community by community, following the
vision of Gawad Kalinga, inspired by its values.
There are tens of thousands of our youth
awakening to their rightful role as the founding
fathers of a Philippines they will be proud of, a
Philippines they will leave behind as a beautiful
legacy to their own children. Tomorrow, we and
they will be in the millions.
We are standing our ground, staying our course.
We will destroy our slums and build our
communities of peace, of harmony, of productivity.
We will be anchored in our faith, guided by our
patriotism. We will transform ourselves, and help
others to transform themselves. We will hold the
hand of the weak, of the old, of the very young.
We will not deny any Filipino his dignity; we
will not allow any Filipino to be homeless and
hungry in his own motherland. We will be our
brothers’ keepers, and happy to be so.
We will find the sunlight and bask in its light.
We will see our dreams rise from the ashes of our
historical pain and suffering. We will witness
our families live in peace and pursue new dreams.
We will behold communities thrive in Bayanihan
and the Filipino people become one and free and
happy.
This is our covenant with our God, with our
country, with our family.
We are Caretakers of Gawad Kalinga.”
- end of article -
