Donations Sought for Homes for the Poor

LAKELAND Gawad Kalinga, a worldwide effort helping thousands of the poorest of the poor, has come to Lakeland.

IF YOU GOWhat: GK WALKWhere: Lake Hollingsworth, parking lot adjacent to the Yacht Club.When: 7:30 a.m. registration, walk begins at 8.Cost: $20 for adults, $10 for kids 10 to 17.

Organizers of "GK" here say you can help make the "one village at a time" effort continue.

"Gawad Kalinga" means "to give care."

The growing effort to help wipe out poverty began in the Philippines in 1995. The organization focuses on people called squatters who live in makeshift huts.

GK villages have been built in other poor countries around the world.

GK will host a fundraising walk Saturday morning at Lake Hollingsworth.

The event will receive support from some of the more than 300 Filipino families in Polk County.
Through donations, GK builds villages, usually 30 homes each but sometimes more.

A village of 30 homes costs $75,000 to build. Some villages have been funded by more than 400 corporations.

People give their time to build the homes, while donations are used to buy the building materials.
More than 2,000 villages have been built in the Philippines.

And villages have been built in other areas, including Vietnam, Cambodia, India, the Bahamas and Africa.

GK sounds a lot like Habitat for Humanity, but goes further.

Norma Vianzon and her husband, Noni, are helping to organize Saturday's walk. She raves about GK, saying the organization "picks people up from nowhere."

Vinazon said the love provided by GK doesn't stop with a home. People are also taught to read, job skills and how to operate a household. The teachers are volunteers, the books are donated.
GK doesn't build villages in America. But GK in the United States, which helps build villages in other countries, is a ministry of Couples for Christ.

Lakelander Esok Adraneda, a 59-year-old retired CPA,has traveled to the Philippines on his own dime each year since 2002 to help build villages.

"It's a real feeling of satisfaction to help someone, not just with shelter but with their dignity," Andraneda said.

"We're not only building homes and communities, we're building lives."

Vianzon said the local GK event is part of a drive to build one village.

The walking event Saturday morning at Lake Hollingsworth begins with registration at 7:30, followed by the walk at 8. The cost is $20 for adults and $10 for kids 10 to 17.
Walkers get T-shirts.

People who don't walk can donate with a check payable to ANCOP USA, mailed to Norma Vianzon, 2405 Woodley Ave., Lakeland, FL 33803.