Fil-Am families find faith in action in Gawad Kalinga

CHICAGO, Illinois – When the Wong family here decided to fund and build their own Gawad Kalinga (GK) village two years ago, they promised that even after the houses are completed and the livelihood set in place, they will continue to be involved and to give their time, dedication, love and even resources to ensure that the residents are given opportunities to succeed in life.

The Wong family has been following up on the homes and livelihood of their beneficiaries in Sta. Maria, Bulacan and they are happy with the way things are going in their village.

“We know that they will try to make a better life with their new homes and their livelihood. We intend to continue following up on their living condition and we are sure that it will also continue to improve. We hope to see that they succeed and that more opportunities come their way,” said Dr. Emelita Wong in an interview.

Wong, a dentist, is just one of the many Filipino-Americans in the US who are passionate about helping the poor in the Philippines through GK.

Doctors, engineers, nurses, various professionals, universities, parishes and different Filipino organizations have donated their time, talent and treasure in helping uplift the lives of the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.

They do so with various fund-raising activities – garage sales, benefit concerts and auctions – or contribute their own padugo. They give out of their pockets and sell their houses, jewelry and other investments to raise money for the houses of the poor.

Some of them work extra hours and give their overtime pay for the funding of homes. Some have retired already but have gone back to work to add more homes in their GK villages and some have decided to give up their flourishing careers in the US to be able to work full time for GK. 

Others simply juggle their careers, family life, CFC and GK work as their way of giving back to God – their “faith in action.”

To date, there are over 300 GK Fil-Am-funded villages all over the Philippines. Since 2002, there has been a torrent of contributions from Filipino-Americans in the US to GK.

Emelita said that when her family first visited the Philippines four years ago, they were shocked by the living conditions of the people.

She said she was deeply affected by the plight of street children living in pushcarts or hard-scrabble shacks.

“We saw how the people struggled and witnessed their subhuman conditions. It was then that I asked myself how can I help my countrymen,” Emelita said.

She thought that if they were given the same opportunity she had in the US, the poor Filipinos would probably succeed in life too.

She was looking for the right vehicle to help and learned about GK. 

“I learned about GK through ardent supporters, the Couples for Christ (CFC) members here in Chicago, and was enamored by the concept. I said we could not pass up the opportunity to partner with GK in rebuilding lives and restoring dignity to families who had nothing by giving them homes in a safe environment. Again for us, trust was the factor from the start. Since then, we have participated in GK’s special events and supported its many functions,” Emelita said.

In 2005, when she was still president of the Philippine American Dental Association of the Midwest (PADSM), she coaxed her fellow members to donate to GK and they were able to raise a hefty amount to build a village in Mindanao which they named the PADSM GK Village.

She said what really convinced her about GK was the transformation she saw in the lives of the poor. Emelita was satisfied that they were being taught to be self-reliant through the livelihood program that comes along with the free homes.

“The appeal in donating to GK is that the money is used totally for the construction of the homes and facilitation of educational and livelihood programs which will benefit each and every member of the family. After putting in the money, we were able to find out the progress of the village any time. Everyone involved in GK, the village coordinators, the management and caretaker teams, volunteers, the partner coordinators here, Lou and Efren Jose, all are efficiently in tune in giving us all the information that we asked about our village. The organization is excellent in implementing what they said will get done,” she said

She urges others too to give their time and talents to GK if they don’t have the resources.

“If there is a universal law that must be imprinted in our hearts, I would say that it is the law of giving and sharing. We are all blessed with something that will grow if shared with others,” Emelita said.

Lastly, she lauded the efforts of the CFC for their dedication and hard work in spreading the good news of GK to everyone.