Philippines and Gawad Kalinga: How They Started and Where are They Now

Gawad Kalinga Philippines was conceived on the year 1995, the day after Christmas. It is the baby of Couples for Christ, a Christian community. The CFC held a youth camp at a shady area of Caloocan city on that day. It was then that the first ANCOP foundation was created as an answer to the needs of the poor, it was first meand to reach out to out of school young adults in that said area. That was its meager beginnings. But right now, ANCOP is the partner group that handles the financial aid to Gawad Kalinga. Then, four years after the germ of this idea grew; the very first free home was built in Caloocan. The term Gawad Kalinga, (providing care in English) was then created for this new vision of giving houses to the homeless.

After being registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission on 2003, GK was formally launched during the Couples for Christ anniversary. Tony Meloto, one of GK’s visionaries fervently spoke to the thousands and thousands of CFC members coming from all over the country about the grand vision of Gawad Kalinga. This vision was called GK777, a project to build seven thousand communities or seven hundred thousand homes to be erected within the next seven years. 

This was how GK started. These are such humble beginnings have been highlighted by the most boldest of visions. Gawad Kalinga Philippines is truly one of the most successful campaigns against poverty in the country. The boldness of vision is perhaps the thing that makes this campaign work. GK exists thanks to the labor provided by volunteers who help build the homes and keep the community alive through education, medicine, and livelihood seminars. Its financial life blood is provided by donors who give away huge sums of money simply out of charity.

There have been several successful campaigns launched by GK. On 2006, GK started the One Million Builders project. It was an advocacy for creating more momentum for volunteer work in GK sites. Right now, there aren’t any other charitable institutions out there that can boast the same accomplishments that GK has under its belt. Right now, GK has built thousands of homes for the poor in hundreds of separate communities in the Philippines. Most charitable organizations give aid to the poor sporadically, or they provide aid whenever there are natural disasters or outbreaks. But GK has provided a radically new model that is sweeping the nation.

At present, GK has a new vision. Last June of this year, GK launched in Boston, Massachusetts a new crusade. The new Gawad Kalinga Philippines vision is nothing short of the total elimination of poverty in the country until 2024. This new crusade, like GK777 is very audacious. A deliberate over shooting so that even if the results fall short of the goal, would still be quite significant. And if one is to base things from past results, this project looks to be a very exciting and promising one for the books.