Another Gawad Kalinga story

In the past four sundays, I have been going to the Gawad Kalinga site here in the province. It was the same place that I went to about October of last year (see this blog). This time though my involvement became more of wanting to get involved.

We have recently forged an informal alliance with other schools in supporting this Gawad Kalinga site and I am looking forward now to a fun filled year ahead of me working for the project. So what is it that I realized?

You see, for someone like me, who although had a rough time growing up emotionially and all the problems in the family, I did not have much experience in how is it to be poor. My family is not well-off but we definitely have food (good food at that) everytime we need it. To understand the state of my countrymen who are below the poverty line, I will have to get that from another experience not of my own. What is it that people like me will get from building houses and doing things that we've never done before?

As I was talking to the other people in the area earlier, I realized that more than just building the houses it is in fact a social responsibility. It is our role to be part in solving the problems of our countrymen and not criticize them because of their state. To give a person a house to live is not just providing him shelter, it is actually giving him back his dignity. Just imagine this, someone who has a place he calls home will not only want to keep it that way but will want to take advantage of that opportunity. By giving a person that spark of hope, we are telling them that life is not that bad after all and there is a way towards our dreams and the dreams of their children. More than the simple act of kindness that we were doing, it was a revelation to understand that in each person is that intangible chance of doing good and making great wonders out of it. It becomes an experience that allows a person to understand his role in the bigger context of a society that seeks to move itself forward. Looking back at the simple things that we do for others, it becomes a worthy investment that does not only get things done but moves the spirit of the people we touch. To understand that is to catch the true spirit of simply helping out.

In an e-mail I wrote to a friend earlier, I told her how my head is spinning with ideas of the things that can be done. For quite sometime, I find myself going into something that has found a special place in my heart, giving me a great way to do things that matter. In all this I am amazed, I am truly blessed...