Extreme Makeover: Philippines Edition
In 2009, I landed in the Philippines to begin six months of work with the Filipino development organization, Gawad Kalinga. My role was to work with the people of the GK Villages to help develop tourism as a means of livelihood in their communities. As part of my experience, I would also be meeting and living with many of the families and documenting their stories to share with others.
But what inspired me to go? It was a discovery that the Philippines is receiving an extreme makeover. Slums that once dotted the landscape are being transformed into bright, colourful villages for the poorest of the poor. This cultural revolution, which the Filipinos call “Gawad Kalinga,” translates into English as “to give care.” The formula is simple: less for self, more for others, enough for all. Filipinos around the world are being challenged to give back to their home country. With the help of its supporters, Gawad Kalinga is providing values’ formation and building thousands of villages in the Philippines to provide homes to homeless families.
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| A look down the street shows the before and after... |
After years of oppression and continued government corruption, 70 per cent of the 85 million residents of the Philippines still live in poverty. Ironically, in a 2005 global survey, Filipinos came out among the world’s happiest people. Looking through Western eyes, one might believe that such statistics are incorrect. After all, when many Westerners spend their lives chasing material pursuits or the “American” dream in the pursuit of happiness, who could imagine that a country so poor could be so happy?
Perhaps the Dalai Lama answered this question best when he said,
"Man surprises me most because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future. He lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived."
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| A family in Talisay City that benefitted from the work of Gawad Kalinga |
As a half-Filipino, I was so touched by this unique Filipino-made solution that I made the decision to travel to the Philippines on my first voluntourist trip. When I arrived at the village where we would spend part of my six months, there was an immediate connection to the families. It was a humbling thought that even though these people came from such humble means, had little money and few possessions, they welcomed us to stay in their small homes, share their food and their lives with us.
Stories were shared of life in the slums: sleeping on cement floors infested with cockroaches, meals of only salt mixed with a bit of rice and leaky roofs that would flood homes during downpours. Men spoke of how they lost their dignity and confidence because they could not provide for their families. At no point did they blame anyone for their pain. Something transcended the darkness in their lives. As long as they had their families, there was joy. I then realized I was standing in the richest country in the world. Wealth measured by relationships rather than material possessions.
The work of Gawad Kalinga will continue until poverty around the world is eradicated, values are formed and slums no longer exist. Nobody will be left behind. If we work together to teach people to fish, they will be able to feed their families for life.
Are you looking for VolunTourism opportunities in the Philippines?
Here are two great places to start...
- Gawad Kalinga (Community Development)
- Kalipay Negrense Foundation (Abandoned & Abused Children)
You can also send me an e-mail and I will connect you with the right people!
*This article was originally published in the October 2009 edition of travel3sixty, Air Asia's official in-flight magazine.
*This article was originally published in the October 2009 edition of travel3sixty, Air Asia's official in-flight magazine.
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