IT BEGAN WITH THE YOUTH

It all started with the first youth camp for 127 youth in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City - the biggest slum area in Metro Manila, which eventually expanded into a holistic program covering basic services like shelter, education, health & livelihood.

"Sa pamamagitan ng Gawad Kalinga, nagkaroon ng katuparan ang aming pangarap na magkaroon ng disenteng tahanan, makapagtapos ng pag-aaral at maintindihan ang tunay na kahulugan ng salitang pamilya. Namulat ang aming pamilya na tumulong din sa kapwa naming mahihirap upang magsilbing tagapagdaloy ng bawat kwentong inspirasyon at pagbibigay ng pag-asa."

- Anthony Adduru, First GK family

BEYOND BAGONG SILANG

In 2000, eleven teams among Youth for Christ (YFC) pioneered the first GK villages outside of Bagong Silang.

1,000 GK HOMES

In 2002, former President Gloria Arroyo allocated P30 million to build 1,000 GK homes. Resources from government were then matched by local areas and led to massive replication of GK nationwide.

1ST GK EXPO

Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, Inc. (GKCDFI) was formally established in 2003. During the first GK Expo (October 4, 2003) in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Former President Corazon Aquino declared that: "GK is People Power," rallying all sectors of society to engage with GK.

GK WORKS WITH GOVERNMENT

GK began working with government at the local & national level to help expand GK's reach.

GK INDONESIA

GK in Indonesia began with an education program for the youth in Jakarta.

KALINGA LUZON

Together with the National Disaster Coordinating Council, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and 200 LGUs, GK launched a massive campaign to provide free land and build communities for typhoon victims in Luzon. This pioneered a multi-sectoral template for the rescue and rehabilitation of communities.

GK MABUHAY

GK Mabuhay was launched to renew Filipino culture on the ground and develop GK communities into tourist destinations.

LAUNCH OF GK1MB

A movement to mainstream volunteerism saw form in the campaign to raise one (1) million volunteers through GK1MB (GK Isang Milyong Bayani).

1ST GK BAYANI CHALLENGE: A RACE TO REBUILD A NATION

The 1st Bayani Challenge was born from the heroic response of 400 GK volunteers who helped rebuild the lives of the mudslide victims of Ginsaugon, St. Bernard, Southern Leyte. Watch the video of that story here.

GK RECEIVES RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD

The GK movement began to receive recognition and acclaim from prestigious groups, including the Community Leadership award from Ramon Magsaysay Foundation (Asia’s Nobel Peace Prize). Tony Meloto also became the 1st Gawad Haydee Yorac awardee.

"Gawad Kalinga has thousands of faces. These are faces of every Filipino ethnicity, faith, and social class — of donors at home and abroad who are providing the money and land for new villages; of volunteers across the Philippines who are joining their families, and friends, and schoolmates, and officemates, and fellow church members to build houses and to provide Gawad Kalinga villages with training and services; of executives, lawyers, doctors, architects, and other professionals. These are also the face of over two hundred thousand grateful beneficiaries."

- Excerpts from the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership CITATION for Gawad Kalinga

SINGAPOREAN PRESIDENT

PARTNERS WITH GK

Singaporean President S.R. Nathan launched their feeding program on February 14 at GK Baseco, Tondo, Manila. This became a turning point in the growth of the GK movement in Singapore.

BAYANI CHALLENGE GOES TO MINDANAO

1,500 volunteers bravely ventured into conflict-ridden areas of Mindanao not just with the goal to give care to poor Muslim families, but with hope to build brotherhood and peace between Christians and Muslims. GK builds hope in Bukidnon (Malaybalay, Kitaotao, Maramag, Dangcagan) and Lanao Del Sur (Wao), showing that the more we sweat for peace, the less we bleed in war.

GK BUILDERS' INSTITUTE

The GK Builders' Institute ushered in students from different fields of expertise to make the GK villages their classroom, bridging the gap between theory and application through internships, training and mentorship.

GK HIGHWAY OF HOPE USA TOUR

In 2002, former President Gloria Arroyo allocated P30 million to build 1,000 GK homes. Resources from government were then matched by local areas and led to massive replication of GK nationwide.

GK BAYAN-ANIHAN

In partnership with the Department of Agriculture, GK launches a new food sufficiency template to end hunger for the poorest of the poor, empowering communities to produce food for their own consumption.

1ST GK HOPE BALL

Uniting the affluent and influential members in the country, Turkish national Beliz Balkir-Cook championed the inaugural Gawad Kalinga Hope Ball on October 8, 2010 at the Manila Peninsula. Close to 8 million pesos was raised to be used in building GK communities in Sulu.

"We like to open the doors, we like to open the paths, and if we can actually get more people involved, not only with GK, but bring more NGOs to Sulu. If we open the right doors we will lead the way for people and make this a better place."

- Beliz Balkir-Crook, GK Volunteer

HOPE 2010, THE GAWAD KALINGA EXPO

This historic GK Expo ended the first 7 years of Gawad Kalinga. President Benigno Aquino III addressed thousands of volunteers at the QC Memorial Circle, challenging everyone to have the courage to care and expressing the importance of public-private partnerships.

"Similar to what GK did, I encourage you to do bayanihan with one another so that we can fix our country. GK has proven this (model works), that is why we are pushing for the relationship of the private sector with government and our people."

- President Noy Aquino

GK PARADISE HEIGHTS

FOOTBALL CLUB

The Field of Dreams is bayanihan in action among the private sector, government and GK families, raising the dignity of SAGIP kids through sports. In September 2010, the GK Paradise Heights Football Club was instituted, even attracting children and parents who were not originally from GK communities.

GKONOMICS

Cecille David, Rose Cabrera, Pinky Poe, Divine Duran and Marivic Pineda establish GKonomics, the social enterprise development partner of GK that is now building strong, sustainable and scalable social enterprises in GK communities all over the Philippines.

LIFEBANK FOUNDATION

PARTNERS WITH GK

"LBF and GK are on a common mission to tackle this greatest scourge of our country — the poverty that blights the lives of so many Filipinos. And we believe that the best approach is through initiatives that are simple and straightforward, focused in purpose, and as sustainable as poverty is persistent."

- Manuel Perlas, President, Lifebank Foundation

FIRST NATION BUILDING CONFERENCE FOR SCHOOLS

Recognizing the role played by schools as partners of GK, the 1st Schools for Nation Building Conference (SNBC) was organized by the Father Saturnino Urios University of Butuan City, Agusan del Norte and was held in Ateneo de Manila University.

GK CANADA

GK Canada was launched in October 2010 where Tony Meloto, partners from the Filipino-Canadian community and corporations such as TELUS International, SunLife, Manulife and Canadian Urban Institute were present.

GK EUROPE

Through the efforts of GK Advocate from France Olivier Girault, GK connected to a new network of students and school officials all over Europe. This paved the way for bigger innovations to be explored in the Philippines, drastically increasing the number interns coming from the best French universities.

THE KALINGA BILLS

The Filipino Volunteerism in Nation Building Act of 2010 is the first of a series of bills inspired and spearheaded by GK, paving the way for more players to collaborate in building viable, sustainable and empowered communities in 50,000 barangays all over the country.

THE GK ENCHANTED FARM

The launching of the GK Enchanted Farm in Bulacan opens the 2nd stage of Gawad Kalinga's development program (Social Artistry, 2011-2017). As a model for rural economic development, the  Enchanted Farm is the first of 25 that will be developed across the country, connecting the poor to the capital, technology, expertise and markets they so need. Among the many other partners that the Farm will attract in the next couple of years, Shell was one of the first to commit, converting the rough roads leading to the Enchanted Farm using Instapave Technology, an all-weather paving system.

SKOLL AWARD

FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Last March 29, receiving the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, England allowed us to share the incredible journey of ordinary dream-builders from the slums of Manila to a world stage. The funds from the 3-year Skoll grant will be used to build GK's capacity to scale its values-based model through strategic alliances, strengthen the organization to reach 1M poor families, and design and implement an impact assessment framework.

"Gawad Kalinga brings new perspective to our growing portfolio of social entrepreneurs tackling poverty. With their deliberate focus on values formation and partnerships, Tony Meloto, Luis Oquiñena and their team have transformed large swathes of the Philippines. And they’ve successfully replicated the model in urban and rural environments, at half the cost of alternative interventions. We are delighted to welcome Gawad Kalinga to our Skoll community of social entrepreneurs.”

- Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation

THE COMMUNITY IMPACT

ASSESSMENT STUDY

Through the Skoll grant and by partnering with Ateneo's Institute of Philippine Culture and GK Ateneo, with the guidance of Former Ateneo President Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J., GK embarked on the Community Impact Assessment Study. This will give us empirical data and an understanding on how to further improve our development template to maximize impact in the communities we serve. It will also facilitate faster replication of the GK model towards 2024.

SENDONG RECONSTRUCTION

The unprecedented damage brought about by Sendong in Northern Mindanao in end Dec 2011 brought much devastation and heartache, but also the opportunity for Filipinos to come together. GK's multi-sectoral network of caretaker teams and volunteers on the ground hand-in-hand with the local government and strategic partners from the public and private sectors (San Miguel Corporation, Berjaya Philippines, Shell, SM, BDO) allowed us to act immediately. One year after Sendong, around 2,000 families from Iligan and Cagayan de Oro were able to spend Christmas in their new homes.

BAYANI CHALLENGE IN 5 SITES

Gawad Kalinga and Pilipinas Natin of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, together with the local government, brought the annual Bayani Challenge to a whole new level by expanding from just building homes in 5 days to caring for 5 different hometowns with more than 10,000 volunteers (PILIPINAS, NGAYON NA! in Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Masbate, Negros Oriental and Occidental Mindoro).

GAWAD KALINGA CELEBRATES

NINE YEARS OF BAYANIHAN

The Bayanihan Expo, organized together with Pilipinas Natin, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and the League of Provinces of the Philippines, marked 9 years of GK's journey. It highlighted the new and emerging face of GK: a force driven by many partners from all over the country and even the world. It was during the Expo that the Berjaya Group of Malaysia brought corporate commitment to a whole new level. They pledged to donate a total of P300 million over the next 3 years to build more homes and end poverty on a wider scale.

"Possibilities for collaboration are endless when the spirit driving this campaign is that of bayanihan. It is my great hope that we will continue to work this way; that more partnerships of this kind will emerge so that more Filipino families… can live better day to day from and inside their own homes.”

- VP Jejomar Binay

BAYANI CHALLENGE 2013

ISANG BAYAN ISANG BAYANIHAN

80,000 volunteers head to 37 sites nationwide for the Bayani Challenge 2013: ISANG BAYAN ISANG BAYANIHAN on March 23-27