AMIDST the political turmoil and outrage caused by the now infamous constituent assembly, amid the chaos being caused by the onset of the presidential campaigns, representatives from various sectors in the Philippines converged in Boston, Massachusetts for the 2024 Gawad Kalinga Global Summit 2009. The summit ran from June 12 -14, working towards a single-minded and altruistic goal – “A World Without Poverty.”
Prominent figures as Vice-President Noli de Castro,Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Conrad de Quiros, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, GK Champion Tony Meloto and GK Builder Dylan Wilk took time from their hectic schedule to discuss possible solutions to fight the neverending battle against poverty in the Philippines.
Even Cambridge Vice-Mayor Sam Snydel, in behalf of the City of Cambridge, gave his full support.
“The City of Cambridge supports the GK global summit to unveil the GK vision of 2024 of poverty eradication. What a noble goal that is, to discuss and think about it and chat strategies on how to do it. The two countries (Philippines and US) have a special relationship. There are 3 million Filipino-Americans residing in the United States, about 100 percent of them are gainfully employed. They participate in all facets of American life and strengthen the bond between our countries. I believe that sponsoring this kind of activity livens our community and creates avenues for a better world,” Snydel said in an article from Philstar.com.
“We launch GK as a global movement, to bring Filipinos out of poverty, slum after slum, town after town. Based on our experience, it is possible that we can get the Philippines out of Third World without having to depend on foreign aid, depend on too much funding, we have the land, resources and talent,” said GK Champion Tony Meloto from the same article, urging Fil-Ams to contribute to the effort.
“The difference between a rich and poor country is the citizens’ love for the country. If we love our country, we will bring it out of the Third World even before 2024. We believe by 2010, we can do that because of our partners, our target now is to get land for 5 million families by 2024,” he further said.
An impossible feat, it may seem, especially since Fil-Ams are going through tough times with the economic recession as well. If we think about the miracle of the five loaves and two fish that fed a multitude in the Bible, we would probably come to an unlikely yet valid conclusion – the real miracle came from those who willingly shared what little they had – an act that turned meagerness into a veritable feast.(AJPress)
( www.asianjournal.com )
( Published on June 17, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A7 )
