by Gia Leanne Luga

It used to be a dumpsite with used cars, garbage and overgrown shrubs. A few kilometers from the Keppel Batangas Shipyard, what you’ll see today is the Keppel-GK Eco Village, a tightly-knit community of 60 families sprawled over a spacious lot shaded by mango trees. This is possible because of the coming together of people from two different shores: Singaporeans and Filipinos working towards one vision.

It began with the late Chairman of Keppel Philippines Marine Inc. (KPMI) Nelson Yeo, the driving force of this Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project in the Keppel Group. Poh Leong Kok, President of Keppel Batangas Shipyard, echoed Mr. Yeo’s desire to give back by saying, “We want to contribute by empowering lives and nurturing the communities where we operate. The GK model for community building offered the template and something special for the CSR project. The outcome and the life-changing impact it has made to the families are really fantastic.”

Soon after, the project inspired the entire organization. Keppelites from various ranks and departments helped profile potential GK residents and build homes. In Singapore, members of the Keppel Young Leaders from different business units raised funds by coming up with events and giving from their own pockets.

The Bauan local government unit, headed by Mayor Ryanh M. Dolor, has also been an active partner — providing land and additional manpower when needed. Surrounding barangays and schools like the Batangas State University also volunteered with the Keppelites.

The difficulties of building a community made the timelines a bit challenging to meet, but everyone’s commitment prevailed. The 60 families who barely knew each other have now formed bonds among themselves and with the Keppelites. KPMI Business Development & Corporate Affairs Manager Alan I. Claveria shared, “The volunteers have become more open-minded about one’s responsibility to the community as a result of their experience of working closely with the beneficiaries in building their homes brick by brick.”

This model of bayanihan has even gone beyond Singaporean and Philippine shores. Through the partnership of the Keppel Group, GK Singapore and Yayasan Gerakan Kepedulian (GK Indonesia), 20 Indonesian families in Cisadane, Jakarta were given new homes last May 19, 2012. Much like the Philippines, Indonesia has its share of poverty-stricken families who live in unacceptable conditions.

What Keppel did was look beyond its own shores not only to build business, but also to help build a world without poverty. After all, whether we’re Singaporeans, Filipinos or Indonesians, we each have a part in building our collective future. Poh Leong Kok underscores this point by saying “Some may be born more fortunate and some less, but it’s always our duty, us who are well off, to try to contribute to those who are not doing so well. There’s no first class human, second class human or third class human. We are all equal.”

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"Beyond These Shores" was featured on Page 36 of THE COURAGE TO CARE: GK Annual Report (January 2011 - June 2012). You can download the full report here.

Gawad Kalinga (GK) is too big a story for one person to tell, and it wouldn’t be complete without the partners who have been with us throughout the years. You too can be part of this mission of ending poverty. To help build more communities like this, click here.