ABOUT GK NEWS OF HOPE GET INVOLVED

"Another one for the country! Our very own PROJECT ZERO won for the Social Contribution Category in the 2013 Asia Communication Awards held in Singapore last June 20, 2013, besting finalists from Malaysia, Singapore and other projects in the Philippines. Congratulations to all of us, especially the Nanays in GK Sooc, Iloilo. To God be the glory!"


>> Read Iloilo-born international designer PJ Arañador's personal insights in his blog post "Project Zero: Amazing Growth"





Spinning Trash into Gold

Bringing Out the Best in the Least

by Gia Leanne Luga




The talented ladies of the PLDT-SMART Amazing GK Village (Sooc, Iloilo) proudly showcase the beautiful and classy bags that they make from discarded tarpaulins.


Where anyone else would see a good-for-nothing mountain of trash, the GK Sooc ladies would see precious scraps that can be sold to bring food to the table. The garbage dump of Mandurriao, Iloilo used to be their source of livelihood, but give these ladies a discarded tarpaulin today, and their skilled hands will transform it into a bag classy enough to be paraded in runways and displayed in boutiques.


In 2007, 25 ladies from GK Sooc learned to sew for a living when SMART tapped the Western Visayas College of Science and Technology. Through their partnership with the Earth Day Network in 2008, the ladies learned how to make simple bags out of used tarps. But the orders were mostly for corporate giveaways and the income was sporadic. Marilyn Platon and the others thought of giving up many times.



Marilyn (Babes) Platon doing what she does best


But SMART’s faith in the community remained and pretty soon, more partners came in. In 2011, Iloilo-born international designer PJ Arañador collaborated with the ladies to generate first class designs for his Nautilus line. The Philippine Business for Social Progress trained them on product development and financial management. GKonomics, a Gawad Kalinga partner in social enterprise development, provided the much needed business expertise and linkage to market. Today, the tarp bags are selling like hotcakes, serving as the community’s source of livelihood. Marilyn shares how Sooc Social Ventures changed her life: “Hindi na ako nahihiyang humarap sa tao. Masarap makitang nakadisplay yung gawa ko dahil alam kong nakakatulong to sa komunidad.” (I’m no longer ashamed to face people, and I’m happy to see my handiwork displayed because I know that this helps my community).


When we give our best for the least, the least will become the best. And when we see the gold in our people, they too will discover the gold in themselves.



_______________________________________________________________________


"Spinning Trash into Gold: Bringing Out the Best in the Least" was featured on Page 20 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 stories of everyone who has been part of this journey. For our 10th year, we want to celebrate, reflect and inspire everyone in and into the mission, so we are inviting you to share YOUR GK story.


Share your story of transformation by July 31, 2013 and inspire many more to join us in this work! Email to stories@gk1world.com or click here to read more.