The Meaning of the Text To the Church Group

If Mr. Tony Meloto were present when Jesus proclaimed the Good News at Nazareth, he would also do what the people at that time did—he would reject it. Mr. Meloto admitted that he had a lot of questions in his mind which put his faith into the test and whose answers aren’t given by religion classes. He asked us, “Why are we considered a third world country when 80% of our population is Catholic?” These questions led to his foundation of the project Gawad Kalinga.             As a member of the religious organization, Couples for Christ, Tony Meloto would go to prayer meetings and activities in different areas as his form of service to the Lord. When Tony Meloto went to Bagong Silang, a depressed area, for their activity, he saw the obstacle preventing our country to progress: the abundance of wealth others obtain and the degradation of life others take in effect. Tony Meloto wanted to scrap off the apathy the people who are well off have been exhibiting, and so, Gawad Kalinga emerged.            After reading the Biblical passage from Luke, we asked Mr. Meloto to narrate incidents which testify that the passage is a present reality within the group. Instead of giving several incidents, he, together with Mr. Dylan Wilk, narrated a funny story our group definitely enjoyed. It started with the growing number of volunteers for the Gawad Kalinga project.              Donations poured and volunteers rushed in for the Gawad Kalinga programs because of the satisfaction they receive and one of those is Mr. Dylan Wilk. Dylan Wilk is one of the richest man in England at the age of 23 but he said that the wealth and success he’s experiencing isn’t enough. He’s not satisfied and he wanted to do something different, something like GK.             He heard about GK through his ex-girlfriend who came from the Philippines. It struck him because of the cheap price of the houses and he, with his wealth and success, could definitely afford thousands of those. He told us the funny reason why he sold his BMW for GK. “I looked at one of the wheels and I thought that’s one house in the Philippines,” he said. With the money he had in return for the BMW car, he stalked Tony Meloto, sent an e-mail to give the money but Tony refused. Tony Meloto insisted that the donor should be the one to put the money in to use and participate in the programs. So, Dylan went to the Philippines and participated, even if Mr. Meloto was the first to ever refuse Dylan’s money. The BMW Village was constructed and after years, Dylan married Tony Meloto’s daughter, a blessing he received, and now they live in the house next to Tony’s house. Tony said that this is a very appropriate proof that the Biblical passage is a present reality to the group. Donations came and people volunteered, whose main priority is to bring glad tidings to the poor, creating a better life for them. Filipinos who spent their whole life abroad even go here to participate in GK because they feel fulfilled after doing so. “God provides,” Tony Meloto added. The group is giving the life according to the plan of God to the less fortunate ones. Gawad Kalinga makes the passage real for the people in our society at present as they have come to bring hope against the varying difficult situations that these people face. The establishment of such organization makes Isaiah’s prophecy alive even in our times today. Jesus may not be physically present today to uplift the situation of the poor and marginalized people all over the Philippines yet he is present in Gawad Kalinga as it is an organization that unceasingly works for the benefit of the poor. The group evidently performs and actualizes the text in Gawad Kalinga through the programs included. They have livelihood programs to liberate the captives from the crimes they act just to survive. They teach the people how to make candles, cook, bake, and make bags out of recycled materials to give them the chance to make a living of their own. They recover the sight of the blind, pertaining to those with little faith, by giving them the chance to join Couples for Christ and receive God’s word through the seminars and activities. Jesus at that time served as the bridge between the people and their relationship with God, and to continue that mission, Gawad Kalinga through the Couples for Christ, serves as a bridge to connect the gap between the people and God which arose from the people’s loss of hope, their lack of faith and the continuing injustice that is happening in the society. Tony Meloto left us with a statement which is very heart-felt, “We are giving to those people the life God had planned for them.”

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