Gawad Kalinga does not just include
the development of the beneficiary
community but also the transformation
from a caring to a sharing society,
united in the vision of reducing poverty
by together building a new nation,
one community at a time.
A Gawad Kalinga community is composed
of about 60 – 100 families residing
in a contiguous area. The critical
success factor is the organization
and empowerment of the Kapitbahayan
Neighborhood Association, where the
strong values formation is translated
into concrete guidelines for community
living, agreed upon and lived out
by every member. About thirty (30)
families or 30% of the population
also provides the “tipping point”
– a united and strategic number
of members that are strong enough
to start a ripple effect of transformation
in the larger community. Thus, the
model GK community becomes an agent
of change in the larger context.
A Gawad Kalinga community is also
not complete without a strong community
of caretakers – a team of volunteers
committed to hand-hold the beneficiary
community in their struggle to build
their life again. The caretaker team
provides the backbone for the work
of Gawad Kalinga through their sustained
presence in the community and implementation
of GK programs
Transformation happens not just within
the poor community but in the whole
society as well. Gawad Kalinga mobilizes
partners from government, socio-civic
groups, churches and parishes, media,
the academe and others to provide
volunteer services for the various
programs, giving individuals and groups
an opportunity to live out the spirit
of bayanihan.
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