A new breed of nation builders

MANILA, Philippines – “Hindi sapat ang puro salita, kailangan din may ginagawa, ito ang hamon ng panahon – Pilipinas bumangon.”

One might ask, what does it take to be a nation builder? For the different teams at the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Bayani Challenge 2012 in Cagayan de Oro City, this chant sums it all up. Indeed, actions speak louder than words.

This is true in the stories of three volunteers of Team GK-Ateneo who have given the words “nation builder” a different meaning.

Leia Go is an incoming second year student at the Ateneo Law School. Ever since she tutored kids at a GK community in Brookside, Marikina back in high school, she was hooked. She has been joining GK builds since 2007.

This future NGO lawyer said that volunteering for GK also helped her become more “aware of the plight of other people” and thus “immersing her in the issues.” This, she said, is good preparation to become an NGO lawyer in the future. This also gives her “motivation to remain in law school – to help others.”

While she considers herself a nation-builder, she acknowledges that she is just “one out of the million builders in the country” and hers is “just a small contribution.” But, every small bit counts because it is what the bayanihan spirit is all about – helping each other build community.

For former Pathways to Higher Education program officer Donna de Jesus, volunteering for GK is her way of giving back. While a student at the Ateneo she remembers her Theology professor Bobby Guevarra telling them, “It’s not about the grade – (it’s about) being men and women for others and sharing what we have with others.”

Donna has volunteered for GK since 2006. If there is one thing that inspires her to keep on volunteering, it is “the kindness and generosity of the people I meet along the way,” which, she said, has been “inspiring.”

Despite the differences in backgrounds, the people she meets in GK, whether fellow volunteers or families from the communities, “there’s a certain kindness, generosity to open their homes and lives to other people.”

For true blue Atenista Christian Doroin, being a man for others or what he calls the “Spiderman philosophy” remains at the very heart of his volunteer endeavors.

He said that volunteering for GK is the real “down from the hill experience” where you work with “people from different backgrounds.” It is also a very humbling experience where “everyone is equal” while building houses at communities.

He also added that through this volunteer endeavor, “you don’t go back to being the same person.” 

This, perhaps, is what being a new breed of nation builder is all about – the ability to empathize, and see others’ plight and to be able to reach out and help them.

Like the vibrant colors representing the different teams that participated in the GK Bayani Challenge 2012 in Cagayan de Oro City, we see a new breed of nation builders in the youth.

Much like Leia, Donna and Christian, who are unafraid to step out of their comfort zones and share their time and talent for building GK communities, this new breed of nation builders is exactly what the country needs.