Friday, September 11, 2009

Gawad Kalinga Takes It to the Streets - GK Walk 2009

No More Slums.com

Less for Self, More for Others, Enough for All

Gawad Kalinga volunteers take it to the streets

One fourth of the long line which closed down the world's longest street

The youth says- no to poverty - NOW!

Thank you for helping us - See You Next Year Officers!


Tinaguriang pinakamahabang lansangan sa buong mundo, ang Yonge Street sa Toronto ay napasara ng isang libo at limang daang Filipino-Canadians para itaguyod ang pagnanasa na maging "Slum-free country" ang Pilipinas at iba pang karatig na "third world" na mga bansa. Ang Gawad Kalinga Walk o GK Walk ay isang taon-taong kaganapan sa humigit tatlumput isang, 31, siyudad sa Canada at Amerika upang bigyang pansin ang lumalalang problema sa ekonomiya, gutom at kawalan ng pag-asa.

Noong Agosto 23, ngayong taon ang pinakamalaking pagsasama-sama ng mga tinaguriang bagong bayani ng ating henerasyon.

Mabuhay ang mga Pilipino na may dugong bayani na nanalaytay at naniniwala sa bayanihan upang ibangon ang bansa. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.

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Last August 23, easily more than 1,500 participated in the biggest gathering of patriots in and around Toronto. A total of 5 kms closing down major streets to create awareness and bring hope to the hopeless, home to the homeless and land to the landless.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Remembering the GK Kids of Pototan



They may be young for in terms of age, but we know they are capable of doing great things. Let the youth show us the way. Let the youth prove to us that they are already leaders - not in the future, but now!

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"Ano ang Taya Mo?" was a battlecry for Gawad Kalinga some few years back and if - translated to English, is the gist of what President Obama wanted to convey to the students on their first day of school yesterday.

Pres Obama was spot on when he addressed the youth - "So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country? "

Read the whole text here


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Building communities. Building the Youth. Building Relationships. The video above is dedicated to the children of Pototan. We have been transformed as we help transform.

If you enjoy this, please pass this on. http://www.vimeo.com/6501461

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Day 7 : Not Ready to Go Home Yet


Philippine Flag Colors


Lady in the Waters


Lunch at D'Talipapa


Playing "First to Blink" with our lunch


Holding the Sun


Three-Point Shot


GK Saladmasters Pototan, Iloilo
GK Youth Build 2009

Reviews say them all. There has been no one who has anything against Boracay's fine sands and warm waters. Some complaints revolve around how commercial it has turned out but that is alright. Boracay chose the path to being popular and provide pride and help the country through tourism and economics.

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So we are officially on our last day of the GK Youth Build. But we aren't ready to go home yet. We decided to hit the D'talipapa and get fresh seafoods from the market to be cooked the way we wanted it. There were several restos around the seafood market who does any type of cooking from sauteed, baked, fried, grilled, seasoned with spices, etc. We chose Plato D Boracay. For a budget of Php 700, we were able to buy several kilos of squid and prawns, half a kilo of tanguigue for kilawin and another half a kilo to be grilled. All in all, the cost to have them prepared was more than the cost of the ingredients themselves.

For Php 1,500 we were able to feast on fresh seafoods and fish. It could cost 3 to 5x more than that if we had it in Canada, so we really took our time and savor the moment. There was no rush to let go off of another day in Boracay. One of us had a massage by the beach Php 350.00, some went sarong shopping, some decided to go back to Jonah's for another round of milkshakes. Whatever we chose to do, we had one thing in mind - tomorrow we'll be back in the city and we'll regret if we weren't able to maximize our time in paradise.

True that.