August 8, 2014 – Exactly 9 months after Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), Gawad Kalinga launched KUSINA NG KALINGA in Alang-Alang, Leyte. Together with its partners, GK will feed 50,000 school children to fill empty stomachs and to fuel dreams for a better life. This is our declaration of war against hunger, our moral response to leave no one behind.

GK Executive Director Luis Oquiñena was there to launch the program, and he underscores the importance of making the campaign personal:

“When we dream to feed 50,000 kids, we have to make it personal. I was in Alang-Alang, Leyte yesterday together with Life Bank
who is funding the project and Ateneo ACED who shared the process, science and the training for food preparation for massive feeding.
We launched "KUSINA ng KALINGA,” a campaign to mitigate hunger with nutritious meals in schools and communities.
No one is going to be left behind, we will feed the whole school or community population! The parents will go through GK Values Forums
and are the ones empowered to run the campaign. Each meal costs P15, one lunch meal per day for 136 days per child. Do the math.
SIMPLIFY your life, SPEND LESS so you can SHARE MORE to help us FEED MORE. Walang iwanan!” – Luis O.

Bayanihan in Action

At its forefront, Kusina ng Kalinga is a sustained in-school feeding activity for elementary public school children, conducted over the course of one school year. Daily meals are prepared in central kitchens, packed in lunch boxes, and delivered to the students, to restore them to normal nutritional status.

In the true spirit of bayanihan, parents, teachers, and volunteers worked together to run the kitchen and feeding operations themselves. Through their participation, parents learned how to prepare more nutritious meals for their families, extending the program benefits to the children’s home environment.

July 26 – "May tanghalian kapag nagbayanihan!" Parents and teachers of Alang-Alang Central School in Leyte
enjoying the fruits of working together. This kicks off GK's feeding and values formation program in partnership with the PTA of public schools.
(Read full article on this activity HERE)

After being prepared by the loving hands of a kitchen crew that included parents, volunteers, LifeBank Foundation President Manny Perlas,
and GK Executive Director Luis Oquinena, the meals were packed and delivered in these colorful lunch boxes.

Hunger Ends Where Caring Begins

“In Alang-Alang Central School, set against the mountain of debris was a stream of smiling faces and crisp laughter of the children.
And inside the kitchen the group interacted with the parent-volunteers who all told stories of survival
and their defiance to be totally struck down by Yolanda.” – Mark Lawrence Cruz

The launching of Kusina ng Kalinga is but the first step to a program that will run for the rest of the school year. This year, we dream to bring Kusina ng Kalinga to 50,000 children in public schools and communities all over the country.

For the first two months of the campaign, we’re giving special priority to Yolanda-hit areas and putting up care kitchens that will serve at least 3,000 school children in Leyte, and WE NEED YOUR HELP.

Click HERE to find out more about the Kusina ng Kalinga campaign, or email partnerships@gawadkalinga.com to partner with us.

Walang iwanan!