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One of the main things that the Church always says is that God loves
us and that He does not want us to suffer. For people like us, who
belong to the better side of society, it sometimes becomes hard to
continue believing in this because of the problems we face everyday.
Yet despite these, we still can say that God loves us because we
know that we too are showered with blessings that come everyday in
different ways. However, being in the position or in the shoes of
those in need, it is a lot harder to see and experience God’s love
for them. Imagine worrying endlessly if there will be food for the
family the next day, if they will go home to the same house they
left or will it be torn into pieces when they come back because they
do not own the land wherein that simple house they had once stood.
Imagine always having a job that harms your health and getting
almost nothing in return all because you have no other choice. How
will they be able to see where God is if in their daily lives, these
are the things they face?
But despite all the
struggles and hardships these people have to go through, there are
others that are willing to help them, groups of people who do
precisely what God and the Church has taught them. These people
help, not expecting anything in return except for the simple
satisfaction that comes along with the knowledge that they have made
their brothers and sisters happy even with simple gestures. Gawad
Kalinga is one of these groups.
However,
as a group that is geared towards helping the poor, Gawad Kalinga is
still subject to the criticisms from outsiders – whether their
aids are really given without expecting anything in return or if
there is a catch. The idea of helping out of the goodness of
one's heart is now unusual and rarely done that there is much to
question and there are suspicions when it comes to groups that do
so. It is therefore, through the group's exposure to this
community, particularly their projects for the homeless (Tatag)
and those that lack money for education (Sibol, and Siga)
that we shall try to make sense and understand the true meaning and
purpose for the Gawad Kalinga's helping the poor.
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Choosing Gawad Kalinga (GK) as a topic is a broad
scope. It has seven different programs that are concerned in helping
the less fortunate. That is why for this project, the group has
chosen to focus only on two programs of GK: the GK house building or
shelter and site development and education. The group chose to focus
on these two aspects primarily because these are the ones which are
more accessible and feasible for exposure and information gathering.
As mentioned earlier, the house-building portion (Tatag) has
been continually expanding all over so many different areas in Metro
Manila. Similarly, the group chose education, particularly the two
main branches: Sibol and Siga, because this topic is
something the group members can understand and connect to since
every member is subject to the educational environment. Aside from
the reasons mentioned, the group also wants to see how GK does on
these fields – whether or not they are successful in the goals
they have. The area the group chose for exposure both in house
building and education is Talanay.
The GK shelter and site development projects or Tatag
as they call it, is a program that aims to build colorful and secure
homes for our less fortunate brothers and sisters. Through these
houses GK aims to give our brothers and sisters a fresh new start in
life by rebuilding within the basic unit of the community. However, Tatag
does not only focus and include building houses; they also provide
other structures that can help the community where they are in.
Examples of these are cemented walkways, multi-purpose halls and
some times even basketball courts.
Secondly,
this paper will include the educational sector of the GK. Not only
does it provide help in housing the less fortunate but also
educating their youth. GK currently has two educational programs,
one is for children aged three to six years old, which they call Sibol,
and the other for pre-teens aged seven to thirteen years old, which
they call Siga. These programs do not only include the things
learned inside the classroom but also matters with regards to faith.
Furthermore, as said earlier, GK likewise addresses the nutritional
needs of the children in connection to their educational
involvement. GK has paid attention to the increasing number of
absences in pre-school children hence the reason why GK also
provides food for the children who attend Sibol – so that
the participants will be active in their school and Sibol
sessions. Although we will limit our discussion to house building
and education, we will include “feeding” since it has a strong
connection with learning.
Siga,
on the other hand, is the second branch under education. It provides
help for elementary school students and is also the succeeding level
after Sibol. This is for students who want to pursue higher
education. Siga also provides exceptional students with
scholarships. There are also rehabilitation programs for juvenile
delinquents that will help them live productive lives without having
to deal with the chaotic nature of rehabilitation institutions.
In
terms of Sibol and Siga, however, the group was not
able to have a direct exposure due to certain circumstances. First
of all, in the area of Talanay, the group learned that their Sibol
and Siga programs are not yet fully established – meaning
that it is just starting and they seldom have their sessions.
Secondly, the day the group set for exposure was a holiday; hence,
there were surely no classes for that day. Nevertheless, the group
was still able to gather vital information through interviews and
the experience of one of the members with these programs.
The
group will not include all the other programs anymore also because
there is the factor of time-constraint. Touching on all the seven
programs of GK requires a lot of time. Not all programs happen in
one area at the same time; thus, it will be very hard to go on
exposure and have a good analysis in all different fields.
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