Rey
Anthony H. Chiu
TAGBILARAN CITY, April 13 (PIA)
– Seven towns in Bohol have signified to pick up the habit of building
communities from bottom up, to end poverty as the 2015 Bayani Challenge (BC)
reopens from April 9 to June 12, 2015.
The towns of Carmen,
Loboc, Loon, Sagbayan, Tagbilaran, Tubigon, and Ubay signified their
participation in the annual event, according to the Gawad Kalinga
website.
Of the towns which
have signified as early as April 5, only Tagbilaran City is not significantly
damaged by the earthquake that rocked Bohol October 15, 2013.
On the sites in Bohol,
volunteers would take on the job of homebuilding, play therapies for kids, care
kitchen, environment care, health missions, sports programs and disaster
preparedness activities and mitigation.
Coordinated nationwide
by Gawad Kalinga (GK), BC picks up a tenet: walang iwanan, which commits to
leaving no one behind in development, by challenging the impossible, working in
solidarity with others.
As our country
experiences rapid economic growth, there is a great need for us to reflect on
the realities that confront the least amongst us―the poor landless, homeless
and hungry at the “base of the pyramid,” Gawad Kalinga said.
For over a decade of
volunteer work, Gawad Kalinga professed they have uncovered the secrets of
ending poverty of at least five million Filipinos by 2024.
The fight against
poverty is a fight in intimate contact with the 5 million...the “base of the
pyramid,” GK said.
Winning the fight
however starts with the poverty mindset, millions of Bayani Challenge
Volunteers said.
What is revolutionary
in the GK approach is that it means flipping the pyramid where the rich and the
moneyed "will have to do the heavy lifting to stabilize the
nation".
For the GK way, people
can simply volunteer, donate, be on call, be a mission partner and actively
lead community events.
"We can’t expect
the poor to play catch up, they will never be able to, GK said as they call for
more volunteers to help the poor catch up with the development," states
Jose Luis Oquinena, GK executive Director.
Meanwhile, On May
23-24, Anda Bohol hosts a Hope Conference, one of the seven locations in the
country to host such an event.
Other places hosting
Hope Conferences are Central Mindanao University in Musuan, Bukidnon, Jamboree
Site at the UPLB in Laguna, Tarlac State University in Tarlac, Cotabato City,
Roxas City in Capiz, Jesse Robredo Coliseum in Camarines Sur.
(mbcn/rac/PIABohol)
rotection.
The Individual
Category nominees include Cebuano priest good governance advocate Fr. Carmelo
Diola; Anita Castillon, a teacher of the Tboli’s and Congressman Lawrence
Fortun of Butuan, who spearheaded the processing of birth certificates to
indigenous people.
The Triennial Awards
started in 1996, is conducted every three years aiming to search for
individuals and institutions that are making a difference in the
community.(mbcn fcc/PIA7-Cebu)