Gawad Kalinga is our love story.
The team here in Camarines Sur is just like the many volunteers scattered across the country. We all start the same way, falling crazily head over heals with the chance to serve our God in the most noble of way. We fall in love with the communities we sought to serve. We fall in love with our country.
The houses are bright and colourful. The children are smiling. There is admiration from different sectors of society. There is a certain high that we all feel when we do something good for another – much more when it is for the poorest of the poor. The reward is truly ours. The honor is our to be allowed to do such work.
Then, like any love story, it starts to get a little harder. The butterflies in the stomach no longer feel light and tingly, and the pressure starts to pound harder and harder.
There are real problems on the ground. There could be no more materials for building houses – but a commitment has been made. There are parents who do not feel obliged to send their children to school. There is no water. There is no electricity. And there may be no road to town.
And yet, the team stays on. That’s what Team GK is. Walang Iwanan. That’s what love is. A commitment to stay.
This poster was created by Bem Olaguera – a GK volunteer, a development worker, constant traveler, and proud Filipino. 🙂 We knew we could count on him to come up with a beautiful poster for the campaign to rebuild GK CamSur.
We are definitely, far from our one million mark – but we’ll hope and pray that help comes fast. 🙂 At least faster than the heavy rains that may come after the summer.