Edith B. Colmo
BACOLOD CITY — The Gawad Kalinga 1 Million Bayani Rally held at the Capitol Lagoon over the weekend, the first of the nationwide series of rallies, had brought in thousands of volunteers, which came mostly from the youth sectors.
The rally, held with the theme" Barkadahan Laban sa Kahirapan, was aimed at gathering one million volunteers from different sectors, according to Jose Mari Oquiñena, national coordinator.
Every volunteer is a hero or bayani, hence the project’s is name of 1 Million Bayani.
"Where there are bayanis, there is unity," he said.
To become member of 1 Million Bayani, the volunteer must render four hours a month of volunteer work in a certain GK cite.
There is no age limit because we are interested to attain a squatter-free and hunger-free Philippines in the future, Oquiñena said.
As of this date he said, "there are more or less 100,000 GK volunteers. That’s why we target 1 million, because the more volunteers, the more support the poor communities will avail themselves of."
There are other GK groups abroad: two in Jakarta, Indonesia; one in Papua New Guinea, and one in Cambodia.
In Negros Occidental there are 23 GK sites, and Bacolod City has three.
"GK puts into action our faith in God," Oquiñena said.
Vincent Rivera, GK Region 6 youth development program coordinator said, the program is in partnership with the Department of Education (DEPED) designed to activate participation of youth, young professionals from various companies and sectors, and also those from the schools.
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