Smart builds 2nd GK village in Quezon town

Fifty employee-volunteers of Smart Communications Inc., led by its administration, materials and management division head Ramon Fernandez, took part in the ground-breaking of the Smart Amazing Village in General Nakar, Quezon recently.

The village is part of Kalinga Luzon, a Gawad Kalinga Foundation effort that aims to pool the resources of both the government and private sectors to provide 40,000 houses to families displaced by flash floods in the town late last year.

Smart donated P5 million to fund the construction of 100 houses on a two-hectare property in Barangay Anoling, General Nakar town and to create business opportunities for the affected residents.

Smart employees are also scheduled to render voluntary services for the construction of the houses.

For 12 consecutive weeks, Smart volunteer-employees will take turns in doing excavation work, hauling of materials, reinforcing steel fabrication, laying concrete hollow blocks, concreting, roofing and finishing.

They will also help implement livelihood and educational programs in the new community in the coming months.

General Nakar and its neighboring towns, Infanta and Real, were severely devastated by the four typhoons which struck Luzon late last year.

Gawad Kalinga developed Kalinga Luzon, a massive reconstruction program, to rehabilitate and reconstruct the affected communities.

Last December, Smart helped the Couples for Christ-backed Gawad Kalinga in the construction of 100 houses for fire victims in the Baseco compound in Tondo, Manila.

The adopted community, dubbed Smart Amazing Village, has also been provided with job and livelihood opportunities.