Aussies visit villages of Gawad Kalinga

Filipino-Australians and Australian nationals who are part of Gawad Kalinga’s extensive network have returned to the Philippines to share their time and talents to help build more houses for the poor.

Seventy-seven delegates from the Gawad Kalinga Aussie Youth Great Adventure (YGAT) recently visited GK villages in Iriga, Camarines Sur in the Bicol Region; Baseco in Tondo, Manila; Brookside in Quezon City; and in Muntinlupa City.

A 19-member delegation from Engineers Without Borders- Australia and winners of Miss GK Australia were part of the GK Aussie-YGAT, a project that was started in 2004 and is held every year thereafter from Jan. 21 to Feb. 6.

The GK Aussie-YGAT delegates are Filipino-Australians and Australian nationals from different universities, parish-based organizations and religious groups like Youth for Christ, Singles for Christ, El Shaddai and non-Catholic groups from all over Australia.

The Engineers Without Borders, on the other hand, is an Australian development organization that aims to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged communities worldwide through education and implementation of sustainable engineering projects.

They help out in building the houses for the poor as well as in landscaping and conceptualizing blueprints for improved water filter and solar systems in GK communities.

All the delegates lived in GK houses with their host families for six days in the GK Character Village in Iriga, Camarines Norte and were able to build nine houses.

Miss GK Australia 2006 Karla Magayanes and runners-up Laura Barber, Jessica Jenkins and Beverly Pugliese – all half-Filipinos – raised $90,000 Australian dollars back in Australia to build additional GK houses for the poor.

As the winners of Miss GK-Australia, they each went out of their way to raise funds in their hometowns, held fund-raising events, asked for donations from private and individual corporations.

They believe in the GK advocacy as a holistic approach to poverty and they said that it is the only organization in Australia that is tax-exempt to date.

GK’s vision for the Philippines is that of a nation free of slum areas and squatters, with all Filipinos living in peace and with their dignity intact. Its advocates believe this can be achieved through a simple strategy of providing land for the landless, homes for the homeless, and food for the hungry.

Aside from giving money, Magayanes and her fellow winners went to Bicol to immerse themselves in the lives and culture of families living in GK communities.

What they discovered and experienced made them proud of their Filipino heritage, they said.

Pugliese was amazed at the hospitality, kindness and self-sufficiency of the people in GK villages.

"While we were there, the people tried to speak in a mix of English and Tagalog. They served us a buffet of food even though they had so little food, and even though we were so full already. They also offered to give us their beds while they slept on the ground," she said.

Pugliese said this was different from their community in Australia, where their neighbors do not socialize that much.

"It’s a different experience here and we were touched," Pugliese and Magayanes said.

The winners of Miss GK Australia said they cherished the times they joined families in the dirty work of mixing cement and setting hollow blocks to form foundations and walls of the houses.

They vowed to come back and promised to stir the collective consciousness of other Fil-Australians to the GK cause.

"We want to continue to promote Gawad Kalinga and have dedicated our lives for this. It’s hard to turn your back when you have already experienced living with them, our commitment is to come back and help," Magayanes said.

Meanwhile, Australian national Adam Long, vice president of Engineers Without Borders, also praised Filipinos for their kindness and generosity of spirit.

"Working for GK is certainly the holistic approach to development work. We appreciate that people are participating in the building of houses," he said.

Long’s fondest memories were "how friendly people were and how it took me an hour and a half to go to bed because my bed was a 100 steps and along the way, you’d have to pass at least 20 houses and 20 families sitting out in the front wanting just to have a chat and share something with you. That was really something special. Just experiencing little bits and pieces of so many of them really gave me something special to think about as I was going to sleep each night."

He added that he considers the Philippines as his second home.

Long said they plan to return to the Philippines and write a manual "that would allow anyone regardless of their background or experience to be able to enter a GK work site or village and be able to suggest improvements or best practices that will really ensure a quality shelter program that’s uniform across all the sites."