Gawad Kalinga, Building Lives.

I am a VOLUNTEER! I started just this summer. My best friend invited me to. Well, I joined towards the last week of April and what needed to be done in our committee has actually been taken care of. The committee I belong to is in charge of press releases and anything that had to do with publicity. I refuse to say advertisement as it connotes monetary benefits and too commercial. 

I was involved with youth groups before in high school but somehow stopped along the way. Perhaps I sorted it out of my priority lists but really there was a lot of politics involved I eventually bailed out. Yes, politics is an inescapable reality; it's there much as you try to avoid it. Still, I want to be part of an NGO that deals with a lesser dose of politics. I want to be part of an org that will help grow and mingle with people in different walks of life. GK is one big organization. Whether your privileged or underprivileged, you are welcome to join as you long as you are willing to serve and give. A day after I signed up for GK, I did a little research online. 

There is something moving at seeing people working as one. Sure, you say, it's just for the sake of adding a line to your resume. It fascinates me however seeing volunteers passionately speaking for GK, its contagious. Sincerity is hard to fake. I was sold! I'm familiar with poverty. I am no subdivision kid. I lived along with our poor neighbors. From the stories of my playmates, I get how even buying a new pair of slipper was already a luxury to them. How having a good fish or chicken on the table seems a feast only served on their birthdays. I know how I felt like having a good home, with more than what I need, while across the road was this nipa hut where my playmates reside having only a cup of rice with silver swan for dinner. So, on my birthdays, I make it a point to invite them. Even on normal days I invite them for meals. It was a delight for me to see them eat with gusto. 

Giving and helping a friend you know would do the same to you feels good. But there is something more magical in giving to people you never met your entire life while being absolutely certain that they cannot afford to give something back. You just give without asking anything. Just give and expect none. 

We seriously need to put a stop to pointing fingers. We blame the government yet do nothing. Let's start step by step and see how far it goes with a multitude of Filipinos and hopefully other nationalities worldwide to fight for a cause. Let's end poverty together. Share our blessings. Soon, there'll be homeless Filipinos no more. 

GO NOW AND SPREAD THE WORD. VOLUNTEER! Be the change you want the world to be. CHANGE YOU, CHANGE LIVES! 

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