Toward Innovative, Liveable, and Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation in the City (and Beyond)

Gawad Kalinga (GK) is an innovative approach that could be the key to solving poverty and homelessness in the Philippines. It is potentially an effective, sustainable, and replicable model that could address the problem of urban housing in the developing world. Its most important innovation is a shi...

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Main Authors: Habaradas, Raymund B., Aquino, Martin Lorenzo
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Published: Animo Repository 2010
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Online Access:https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/res_aki/82
https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=res_aki
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spelling oai:animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph:res_aki-10752023-04-12T05:50:34Z Toward Innovative, Liveable, and Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation in the City (and Beyond) Habaradas, Raymund B. Aquino, Martin Lorenzo Gawad Kalinga (GK) is an innovative approach that could be the key to solving poverty and homelessness in the Philippines. It is potentially an effective, sustainable, and replicable model that could address the problem of urban housing in the developing world. Its most important innovation is a shift in paradigm of what community development ought to be. Instead of looking at members of the poor communities as passive actors (i.e. as mere recipients of donations or as beneficiaries of support programs), GK considers them as active participants in the development process. Through the help of the caretaker team and the support provided by donors and volunteers, residents (or the kapitbahayan) become stewards of their own communities. GK also emphasizes the building of relationships among the different actors involved in what it calls a “nation-building” movement. This is the institutional dimension of innovation. Before programs are introduced to the target community, the caretaker team sets the stage for a continuing relationship with the community members by participating in the community’s social activities, and by familiarizing themselves with the culture of the community. Even corporate partners and individual donors are oriented about Gawad Kalinga by bringing them to a GK site. Through their interaction with the members of the kapitbahayan, these benefactors become more involved in the various programs of GK in their adopted communities, and a more enduring relationship is formed, as a result. Another innovation introduced by Gawad Kalinga is its holistic approach to community development, which involves educational, health, livelihood and environmental programs, among others. This distinctive feature has been successfully replicated throughout the country, and is now being imitated by other countries. Gawad Kalinga has gone a long way since its initial years in Bagong Silang. The generosity, commitment, and heroic sacrifice of its full-time workers, caretaker teams, donors, volunteers, and institutional partners have made a difference in the lives of more than 500,000 people in over 2,000 communities in the Philippines and in several other developing countries. Whether GK can sustain its rapid growth remains to be seen. By remaining true to its innovative character, however, and by nurturing the patriotism of the Filipino people, there is reason to hope that its dream of “Land for the Landless, Home for the Homeless, and Food for the Hungry” will become a reality within our lifetimes. 2010-08-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/res_aki/82 https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=res_aki Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies Animo Repository Gawad Kalinga, GK, Innovating Communities Civic and Community Engagement Community-Based Learning Community-Based Research
institution De La Salle University
building De La Salle University Library
continent Asia
country Philippines
Philippines
content_provider De La Salle University Library
collection DLSU Institutional Repository
topic Gawad Kalinga, GK, Innovating Communities
Civic and Community Engagement
Community-Based Learning
Community-Based Research
spellingShingle Gawad Kalinga, GK, Innovating Communities
Civic and Community Engagement
Community-Based Learning
Community-Based Research
Habaradas, Raymund B.
Aquino, Martin Lorenzo
Toward Innovative, Liveable, and Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation in the City (and Beyond)
description Gawad Kalinga (GK) is an innovative approach that could be the key to solving poverty and homelessness in the Philippines. It is potentially an effective, sustainable, and replicable model that could address the problem of urban housing in the developing world. Its most important innovation is a shift in paradigm of what community development ought to be. Instead of looking at members of the poor communities as passive actors (i.e. as mere recipients of donations or as beneficiaries of support programs), GK considers them as active participants in the development process. Through the help of the caretaker team and the support provided by donors and volunteers, residents (or the kapitbahayan) become stewards of their own communities. GK also emphasizes the building of relationships among the different actors involved in what it calls a “nation-building” movement. This is the institutional dimension of innovation. Before programs are introduced to the target community, the caretaker team sets the stage for a continuing relationship with the community members by participating in the community’s social activities, and by familiarizing themselves with the culture of the community. Even corporate partners and individual donors are oriented about Gawad Kalinga by bringing them to a GK site. Through their interaction with the members of the kapitbahayan, these benefactors become more involved in the various programs of GK in their adopted communities, and a more enduring relationship is formed, as a result. Another innovation introduced by Gawad Kalinga is its holistic approach to community development, which involves educational, health, livelihood and environmental programs, among others. This distinctive feature has been successfully replicated throughout the country, and is now being imitated by other countries. Gawad Kalinga has gone a long way since its initial years in Bagong Silang. The generosity, commitment, and heroic sacrifice of its full-time workers, caretaker teams, donors, volunteers, and institutional partners have made a difference in the lives of more than 500,000 people in over 2,000 communities in the Philippines and in several other developing countries. Whether GK can sustain its rapid growth remains to be seen. By remaining true to its innovative character, however, and by nurturing the patriotism of the Filipino people, there is reason to hope that its dream of “Land for the Landless, Home for the Homeless, and Food for the Hungry” will become a reality within our lifetimes.
format text
author Habaradas, Raymund B.
Aquino, Martin Lorenzo
author_facet Habaradas, Raymund B.
Aquino, Martin Lorenzo
author_sort Habaradas, Raymund B.
title Toward Innovative, Liveable, and Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation in the City (and Beyond)
title_short Toward Innovative, Liveable, and Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation in the City (and Beyond)
title_full Toward Innovative, Liveable, and Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation in the City (and Beyond)
title_fullStr Toward Innovative, Liveable, and Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation in the City (and Beyond)
title_full_unstemmed Toward Innovative, Liveable, and Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation in the City (and Beyond)
title_sort toward innovative, liveable, and prosperous asian megacities gawad kalinga: innovation in the city (and beyond)
publisher Animo Repository
publishDate 2010
url https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/res_aki/82
https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=res_aki
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