MANILA, Philippines—“Walang iwanan (leave no one behind).”
With this mantra, thousands of Gawad Kalinga (GK) volunteers, coordinators and donors paid tribute on Saturday to those who lent a helping hand to GK’s relief operations for victims of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana).
And with northern and Central Luzon still reeling from the devastation of Typhoon “Pepeng” (international codename: Parma), GK founder Tony Meloto and executive director Luis Oquiñena vowed to continue giving aid to flood victims in Zambales and Baguio City, among other places still submerged in floodwaters.
Gawad Kalinga, which means “to give care,” is dedicated to helping poor families build their own homes. Founded by the Catholic group Couples for Christ in 1995, it presents a community development model fueled by volunteers in the spirit of “bayanihan (cooperation).”
The message of hope amid the sea of destruction, death and despair that submerged Luzon over the past two weeks was the theme of “GK Expo 2009” held at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.
“We will rise from the floodwaters because we are here to help one another,” said Meloto to the GK volunteers.
This year’s expo is the sixth held by the movement to pay tribute to volunteers and donors from all walks of life—the military, former slum dwellers now “homeowners,” donor companies, legislators and Metro Manila mayors.
In 2003, “GK777,” the vision of building 700,000 homes in 7,000 communities in seven years was launched at the first GK Expo.
The late former President Corazon Aquino declared that “GK is People Power.”
At Monday’s expo, Meloto said many ordinary folk from GK communities emerged as heroes in the recent calamity.
“Those who received help were the ones who willingly helped their neighbors,” he said, adding that 95 residents of GK communities in Napindan, Marikina, helped about 10,000 distressed families in nearby areas.
“We are quietly inspiring one another to help,” he said.
Vice President Noli de Castro added his voice to the ardent call for volunteerism.
“Ano man ang mangyari, walang iwanan (Whatever happens, leave no one behind),” De Castro said.
He paid tribute to the ordinary people who perished while helping their neighbors at the height of “Ondoy’s” onslaught.
In his remarks, Oquiñena said the “bigger tragedy” was not Ondoy or Pepeng, but the abject poverty in the country.
“Many are still living in the slums, homeless, landless,” he said.
Oquiñena reiterated GK’s vision to end poverty for five million Filipinos in 15 years.
“We will raise the bar from relief to clean-up to rescue,” he said, explaining that rescue meant “relocating people from danger zones” instead of allowing them to return to their dilapidated homes to “sit and wait for the next disaster.”
From Oct. 25, GK will feed 1,200 children from flooded areas twice a day until Christmas Day, he said.
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