My mother is a Filipina, so every trip to her home country is special for me. But coming into 2016, I had the opportunity to travel to the Philippines with a group of inspired youth ambassadors from Perth as part of an outreach program for Gawad Kalinga. These 8 days were unlike anything I had experienced there before.
Schoolchildren Feeding Program. Our first stop was at a Kusina Ng Kalinga kitchen in Quezon City, where we met some incredible people who volunteer their time and energy everyday to prepare food for up to 2000 schoolchildren in the vicinity. My fellow Perth volunteers and I had the privilege of helping out that day, performing kitchen duties and then personally delivering the food to the children. As grueling as the task of food prep had been, it was all worth it to see the smiles on the kids’ faces, and to hear them call me ‘Kuya’ (which translates to ‘big brother’). Back at the Kusina, we had a background briefing on the feeding program and their vision. Working at Kusina ng Kalinga that day helped me begin to really understand and appreciate what GK’s mission is all about.
Shelter and Housing. That afternoon, we traveled to Payatas on the other side of Quezon City to visit GK Cox Del Rosario Housing Village, a GKhousing community, where we met Tita Sara and her 21-year-old son, Jonathan. They used to live in the
dump site. We listened to Jonathan talk about his past: how he would play on the streets, where drugs and gangs are a big problem. In Quezon City, and all over Manila, there are thousands of kids living in heartbreaking conditions; dangerous, overcrowded communities, where children face poverty, hunger, disease and the threat of violence. By the age of 17, Jonathan had already begun taking drugs. His life, like many others, would have lost all quality and purpose. However, he said, thanks to GK providing shelter and care, his life turned around. Jonathan is now a second year college student studying accountancy.
House Build. Another highlight of our outreach was the House Build at the GK St Joseph Village in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. We volunteered work in the community for three days, long enough to feel ‘at home’ with them; however it also meant that we would find it very difficult to say goodbye to the bright and friendly boys and girls we met there. What we witnessed was that the families who live there work incredibly hard to build and develop their community. This inspired us to help as best we could in building the houses, from sifting sand and mixing cement, to plastering the walls. In between, we also enjoyed playing games with the children and giving out prizes. It was so touching that they immediately felt comfortable with us, happily taking photos and grabbing chairs for us. At the conclusion of our stay, we prepared a special performance for them, knowing how music can bring such joy and happiness. And seeing the happiness on the children’s faces as we sang and danced together was such a special moment.
The eight days of outreach drove home the importance of the mission of Gawad Kalinga. I feel I have a responsibility to do what I can to bring awareness to the dangers that children are exposed to every day. I realise just how important education is, not only in helping children to learn and develop, but also in keeping them safe and off the streets. That’s why I am decided to support GK and I look forward to doing great things with my fellow ambassadors in the coming year. It is my hope that I can contribute to a movement that ensures that children such as those we met during the outreach, may have a safer world to grow up in… a world of opportunities. -GARETH GOERKE
