Pres Noy Aquino at the GK Enchanted Farm

From: Tony Meloto
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 1:20 PM
Subject: Re: PNoy at the GK Enchanted Farm

Dear Friends,

President Noy Aquino, accompanied by members of the economic cluster of the Cabinet led by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Trade Secretary Greg Domingo, launched the GK CSI Social Entrepreneurship movement at the Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan last June 24. Despite the heavy downpour, he came and was energized by the enthusiasm of an overflow crowd of young social entrepreneurs who were the silver lining in the dark skies and a sign of better days to come. He encouraged them to be "part of the solution like Gawad Kalinga rather than be part of the problem." He expressed full support to our audacious goal to raise half a million Social Entrepreneurs who will build wealth in the Philippines, create world class products and provide jobs for 5 million Filipinos in agriculture, technology and tourism. He stressed the need for Filipinos to have big dreams and to support daring initiatives like Gawad Kalinga's plan to set up a GK Enchanted Farm/ CSI complex in every major province as a village university for social education, a countryside incubator and outlet for social business and a destination for social tourism.( The B&B and dormitory facilities at the Farm in Angat will have 200 beds this year and 1000 by next year to accommodate local and foreign tourists, interns and volunteers. Existing GK sites in 24 provinces have enough land to build their CSI complex for their economic phase).

His spirit was buoyed by the inspiring presence of foreign interns and volunteers who see in GK an effective solution to poverty. Their presence is evidence of a growing global trust in his leadership that makes the Philippines an attractive travel destination and investment proposition.

It was awesome for them to hear from the highest leader of the land that nation-building indeed is our core business and all avenues of support will be given to those who will no longer accept poverty as our destiny. Moments like this will have far reaching impact to a remote town like Angat that received for the first time in its history a visit from a sitting President and to the foreign volunteers who will tell the whole world through the magic of social networking that the Philippines will be the next miracle of Asia because the best among our people are in solidarity with the least to create abundance for everyone, especially those forgotten in the countryside.

PNoy had to leave after nearly two hours in the Farm to inspect the release of water at the overflowing Angat dam despite the great time he was having touring the place and conversing with our patriotic social entrepreneurs who prefer to be wealth creators at home rather than be job seekers abroad. He saw artisan chocolates from Asia laced with exotic flavors like labuyo and green mango, gourmet cheese from goat and carabao's milk, yellow salted eggs instead of the traditional red and the health drink for nation-builders called Enchantea from lemon grass and other indigenous ingredients. He was fascinated with the bamboo bike and saw the boundless creativity and energy of the Filipino when properly motivated. The Human Nature cottage had an array of over a hundred different health and beauty products exclusively made in the Philippines that can compete with the best in the world. What was fascinating was how these young entrepreneurs could speak confidently to their President about mainstreaming social business and optimizing profit without leaving the poor behind but having their best interest in mind.

Trade Secretary Greg Domingo stayed behind to discuss with us how his Department can effectively support the President's commitment to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit and to plan for the Trade Fair at the Farm on October 1 that will mark its official opening. Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima also arranged a meeting for Monday to provide store space at the airports for products coming from the Enchanted Farm and Human Nature where profit from sales will go to the support of the campaign to develop a new generation of community builders and job generators.

One thing is clear to me. If our vision is clear and we keep ourselves honest, leaders in government will engage us honestly. We have received amazing support in our farm to market road building effort from the AFP National Development Support Command and technology and facilities from DA, DENR, DAR and the agricultural state schools though the effort of CHED. DOST will also help us bring technology to the countryside to give added value to the lives of our farmers and fisher-folks.

Big business were also on hand - most prominently Shell, Hyundai, Meralco and Mang Inasal - to support this radical initiative to end poverty by creating prosperity from the ground up. Doing good does make good business sense. I'm looking forward to a visit from our West Coast GK partner Seafood City as they are the principal outlet of world class products from Asia in the United States. The world is simply waiting for us to wake up and amaze them with what we can produce from the Philippines and what we can do for our country.

It was truly an amazing day and an auspicious beginning for the Social Artistry phase of GK. It is time to harness the genius and creativity of the Filipino for the good of the Philippines.

GK USA Chairman Tony Olaes came with his wife Grace to experience the magic of the place and the moment when Filipinos are one in heart and mind. We can hardly wait for his Bamboo Palace to be finished in time for the October 1 opening.

This truly is our moment.

No wind, no rain can stop those who love God and country!

I'm on my way now to St Louis for a town hall meeting on our nation-building effort, then to the big convention of UST doctors in Chicago who are eager to help hasten the healing of our broken land. I will fly straight to Singapore as graduation speaker at the NUS School of Architecture on July 7 - an opportunity for me to thank them for designing the Enchanted Farm - after a July 4 stopover in LA to visit my second daughter Wowie who is heavy with my seventh grandchild.

There is obviously no time for me to waste. The next generation deserves redemption from our past mistakes. We have carried our shame for so long and our people have suffered long enough. We simply have to seize the moment in this exciting season of hope.

God bless our President and all our patriots and friends who will help end poverty and corruption in our country .

Tony

2010 Is The Best Year Of My Life

By Tony Meloto

This is my first Christmas as a senior citizen.

Despite back aches, psoriasis sores and joint pains due to the cold weather and lack of sleep, at 60 I do not consider myself old.

Old age is only for those who cannot think young... or dream of tomorrow... or live for a purpose today.

I welcomed in January this new chapter of my life with kape, pandesal and suman with a throng of well-wishers in the streets of Bagong Silang where my Gawad Kalinga journey began.

With me starting his grass-roots campaign was the reluctant candidate destined to be President in six months.

That moment was totally invigorating for me -- the scent of hope in the air and the chance for change and new beginnings.

Hope is energy. It is my fountain of youth.

Since then many things have happened to me during the year -- learning more life lessons to keep my mind wiser and younger.

In March, together with that reluctant candidate, Reader's Digest said we were the most trusted men in the country.

I can travel anywhere to help others because my wife knows that after 32 years of marriage she is the only woman who can share my bed.

I gain freedom when I gain trust. I gain trust when I do not covet my neighbor's goods or my neighbor's wife.

In June, it miraculously happened. Yellow became the color of hope again. Since 2003 when Tita Cory launched GK, yellow for us is people power over poverty, as pink is to cancer and red is to HIV.

Now with the son, hopefully yellow is the color of solidarity, of rich and poor working together to banish social inequity in our country.

The reluctant candidate became our bold head of state, the first bachelor President with no First Lady to pamper and no children to spoil with power. With no political debts, armed with the courage and eloquence of his father and the integrity of his mother, President Noy Aquino vowed to care for the poor and give hell to the corrupt.

Just the possibility of purging corruption from our system is mind-blowing to a nation resigned to it.

Smart politicians in our country are common but an honest leader is rare. I am confident however that more will emerge if the man at the top will show everyone that there is at least one.

I am not naïve to think that we can change overnight, no matter how honest or intelligent our leader is. Our problem is immense, he will make mistakes, his friends can betray his trust and he will be attacked by his enemies even if he does what is right. But if he remains steadfast in six years, great things will happen.
My trust has been betrayed by some whom I thought were true friends and I am not even a politician. But I hold my peace and try to do more good when bad things are done to me and to my country. Now I do not have to defend myself because the good that we do already keep defending us.

A sincere and honest man can sleep soundly like a baby even in the face of difficulty and wake up to find solutions the next day.

Freedom, hope and peace are God's gift to me for 2010.

I thank God for the gift of country, for the profound affirmation that it is my privilege to be Filipino, that the Philippines is the best place for my family to be at this time when Asia is finally coming of age.

I thank God for the gift of family. My wife and I have six beautiful grandchildren who will grow up with honor in our land of great promise where no children have to be raised in slums or beg in the streets.

I thank God for our patriots and friends in Gawad Kalinga who will never abandon the poor. They are transforming more communities and breeding more heroes, here and abroad. We have a young leader in GK of great character, competence and compassion who is our bridge of hope to a brighter future by 2024. Luis Oquiñena is our guaranty that more dreams of the poor will be a reality.

I thank God for the saints of the poor and the guardian angels of those helping them-- Joey Velasco, Nonoy Maloloy-on, Hecky Villanueva and Nong Feliciano -- who have shown by their exemplary lives on earth that to love country is holy, that caring for the poor is true spirituality.

The year has been tiring but immensely exciting for me, spreading our good news in North America, Europe and Asia.

The GK Global Summit in Singapore in June helped us discover our kinship with other Asians and the need to nurture our bond to gain collective strength so none of us in the region will remain poor.

What was striking about Europe was that they saw poverty not as a matter of charity but a serious issue of morality. To them the failure to practice social justice is simply wrong -- tolerating poverty is not acceptable. I shared with three universities in France and volunteers in Austria that social justice is the first step to progress in our GK villages. More like-hearted Europeans are coming next year to express solidarity.

In the United States, hospitality was undiminished despite the bad state of their economy. With recession in their country of choice and optimism in the homeland they left behind, Filipino Americans I visited were restless -- their grass was not so green in America anymore -- yet also hopeful, with many of them coming home to build their Filipino Dream now that there is a concrete channel that they can trust in GK and the resources to do it. As America has been a good home to 4 million Filipinos, we want 350 million Americans to discover that the Philippines is a good home to them in Asia.

The Canadians see Asia as family, friend, partner, resource and market and the Philippines as a main gateway to it because we speak English, we have nearly a 100 million consumer base and we are a source of educated and skilled immigrants to their country. Helping our country is a wise investment in goodwill, not charity.

They can sense that this is our moment.

Asia is the new powerhouse of the world. There are tremendous opportunities for growth in underdeveloped areas like the Philippines while many rich economies are in the doldrums. We can continue to lament our fate or decide to catch up and even surpass our less endowed neighbors. After hitting rock bottom, there is no place for us to go but up if we decide not to stay down. The key is to discover that love of country is the way to prosperity like the case of Singapore, Korea and Japan.

To grow our economy, we need to make a radical innovation in human resource development by looking at the poor as family.

That will motivate us to invest our time, talent and treasure in making them un-poor. It is natural for us never to give up on home and family because they define who we are.

Being a father to the poor keeps me young. Investing in raising them to be productive citizens is gratifying and makes good business sense.

In October, we received another global affirmation that GK is an effective Asian model of wealth creation with a big social impact. The Ernst&Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year award given to us meant that our model is viable, our cause is noble and our supporters are credible.

It pays to invest more money to do more good.

The big money is now on social business -- green bucks for green technology -- profit for more community benefit -- turning trash to cash. Excellent Filipino brands can be produced cheaper locally, give better wages to poor workers, pay higher prices to poor farmers, get more carbon credits, raise more social entrepreneurs, be more competitive globally and create more wealth for our country. The key is less greed, more for others in need.

Our journey from shame to fame can be profitable for everyone.

The key is to think big for our small brother.

The big boys go for the big vision and the big idea that have proof of concept. The GK villages are concrete proof of the power of solidarity -- of rich and poor, of capitalist and consumer working together to raise human dignity, promote productivity, expand the market base and create wealth for many.

The year 2010 is almost over, the air is getting colder, my tired body is slightly older, yet the spirit does not waiver as the vision is becoming clearer, the work is getting bigger and travel for me is more hectic than ever.

Time is precious for the traveler with much ground to cover before the journey is over, not failing to smell the flowers or smile to strangers along the way.

While many people my age think of slowing down for a much deserved rest, I think of accelerating my pace to catch the outpouring of opportunity and grace.

The dark clouds are parting, better times are up ahead and there's no time to waste.

This was the overwhelming message in my recent backbreaking 18-city one month tour of hope in Europe (October 13 to 20) and Canada and the US (October 23 to November 15). Everywhere I went it was the same sentiment: our people want to come back and pay back, to build and to produce, to plant and to harvest, to rise with the dawn and set with the sun in the land we call home.

All the effort was worth it -- my separation from loved ones, the almost daily packing and unpacking, the endless waiting in airports, half-sleeping up in the air, awakening passion in small and big sessions in town hall settings and formal dinners despite my own need for sleep -- just to catch this precious moment of longing to help the country of our deepest affection.

Now I'm in Taiwan upon the invitation of the Jesuit Business School of Fu Jen University to talk about our brand of social innovation. It amuses me that my audience gets younger as I get older, that I can challenge young minds not to accept stale ideas that do not make life better for the planet that they will inherit. I am also energized by people my age who can remain young and fresh in outlook, who always look forward to a bright new day in the darkest of nights, to spring in the coldest of winter.

The onset of old age to many is like the first snow of winter -- white hair for those who are lucky enough like me not to lose them and the dread of cold lonely nights in nursing homes or in big empty nests as grown children get too busy to visit or to call.

I look at mine differently.

I will never run out of nests if I continue to build for the homeless nor will they ever be empty if I never stop being a father to the strays. The buds will always sprout if I continue to plant and turn our barren countryside into fields of abundance to feed the hungry. Our country is poor not because we are less endowed but because we have squandered our endowment. We are poor because we do not wish wealth for all.

Taiwan for me is beautiful because I saw no extreme indulgence and no deep deprivation. Life is busy but there is a sense of serenity and simplicity, of fairness and justice where there is enough for everyone. I walked the clean safe streets of Taipei with two Ateneans in their twenties talking about how good life is when no one is left behind.

Tomorrow I fly to South Korea to keynote the opening of the Asian Social Entrepreneurship Summit 2010 (ASES). It will be an interesting gathering of dreamers, social venture capitalists and bankers who are finally starting to see more clearly how money can be the root of great good.

More interesting for me is the fact that our rich Asian neighbors want to hear the Gawad Kalinga story how the poor can create wealth to help our country join their ranks.

I'm just glad though that there is so much good to do and more people now want to do it. I guess growing old for me can wait.

2010 is the best year of my life. I know that we can make next year even better.

Wealth in Canada

Every time I open my blackberry -- which friends say is most of the time -- I am now reminded of the abundance of a laid back country where it came from which for so long has only been for me an appendage of their powerful and more flamboyant neighbor in North America.

My latest addiction, I just found out, is from Waterloo, Canada.

The small pocket-size contraption has made travel convenient and given me victory over my fear of complex inventions that tax an aging brain like mine. It has made me see the unheralded wealth of Canada, not only in technology but its citizens, and allowed me a deeper connectedness with people and things that really matter in life.
Canada is rich but does not flaunt it.

I was in this cold country -- minus 7 degrees in snow-covered Edmonton on my second day after a rainy overnight stay in Vancouver -- to raise its temperature with the heat of patriots and friends in the launch of Gawad Kalinga Canada and the Kalinga Sa Bayan campaign in Toronto on October 29.

The event -- attended by nearly 300 of the city's top leaders from business, academe, government, media and Filipino groups (passionate UP graduates and sweet Ilonggos mostly, including Consul Edna Lazaro) -- showed clearly the interest of mainstream Canada to support a cause that they can believe in.

A nation is truly rich when it has the spirit to share wealth, not just the ability to create or accumulate it.

Toronto is bustling with prosperity as the center of a stable economy despite the falling currency of neighboring cities across the border. It is the metropolis built by the talents and treasures of immigrants, where harmony in diversity is the foundation of its life. An initiative like Gawad Kalinga that is inclusive, that bridges friendship and partnership in trade and development between east and west is good news to this country where the blood of Asians run through the veins of its citizens.

There were inspiring messages from Telus International on behalf of their President Jeff Puritt to complete the 200 homes in two villages in Quezon City and support their sustainability with continuing mobilization of 5000 volunteers from their Philippine offices. He met with us earlier and gave us a tour of their brand new tower at the heart of the city beside the Air Canada sports dome. I was impressed that this busy man at the top gave us his precious time and treated us with respect as a partner in creating global social equity, not as an object of charity to whom he could just have conveniently written a check.

Profit is good when it grows a big heart and conscience.

Likewise, SunLife Financial Vice President Frank Switzer's speech to support our nation-building effort beyond their existing village in Las Pinas revealed his affection for Filipinos and made employees and clients in the audience proud of him.

Money gains added value when it is shared to add value to the life of others.

Before the launch event, top Manulife Financial executives Dawn Marchand and Sarah Saso also met with us at their impressive head office to express keen interest in our cause since their corporate thrust is to create social impact through volunteerism. Clearly, creating prosperity from the ground-up improves quality of life that people want to secure.

Doing good makes good business sense.

The Toronto event was the culmination of an enriching week-long journey for me in this vast territory that has attracted half a million of our compatriots to abandon sun for snow, poverty for opportunity and the chance to help loved ones left behind at home.

Two big nuggets of insight were revealed to me on this recent trip. The first one was evident where ever I went.

" FILIPINOS ARE GOOD TO CANADA."

They set service standards of excellence, lighten the load in the work place with their optimism and are willing to take on hard posts with long hours even in out of the way places and remote wilderness. Our prized engineers make top money in oil rigs and mine fields to send home while helping grow the local economy.

The owner of Tim Horton stores in Edmonton and Calgary, Mark Havin, appreciates his mostly Filipino staff because they work hard with a smile. In our conversation over coffee and BLT, arranged by a gem of a consul Melda Agbulos and husband Toto, he swears to their charming disposition in the way they say "next please" with a smile despite the long queues in the early morning rush.

Filipinos know joy as the best antidote to stress and loneliness.

Many of them are starting to be wealth creators and job generators themselves, not just seekers of employment that are readily available to those who came to this country to work.

Top designer, jeweller and home builder George Ilagan with partner Paul Hastings count on the elite of Alberta as clients --one of them has a 15 car garage with elevators. They provide jobs to artists, craftsmen, designers, office staff and field workers in Canada. They also outsource design jobs to a branch office in the Philippines that the local team will eventually own. To top it all, they rounded up their affluent clients and friends to build a beautiful village for the poor in Gerona, Tarlac which they are passionate about and visit regularly.

In them, I see generosity in success that leads to greatness.

Top Filipino professionals are shining in Canada as leaders in government and business : Mila Syme as a lady judge, Alex Chiu as one of the longest serving elected officials in Toronto and Pidoy Pacis as a top international executive of SaladMaster and the franchise owner of the first Max restaurant in the city. There are many more but I cited them particularly because they have initiated their legacy villages in the Philippines with the generous support of their peers, companies and alumni groups.

The DNA is good, the cause is honest, the moment is right.

They are not only good to Canada which harvested them when they were ripe and ready after graduation but to our poor country that raised and educated them with our limited resources.

Giving back to the home country is not only about gratitude but just a simple case of justice and fairness and plain good sense.

Helping shelter, feed and educate Filipinos is an investment in raising future citizens of Canada with excellent genes. Of course if the Philippines prospers, they might not want to migrate but it will still be of value to Canada in terms of creating friends, market and business partners in Asia and building a better and safer world for everyone. Which brings be to the next major point.

" CANADA IS GOOD TO FILIPINOS."

It is an accepting environment where our people can shovel snow, drink cappuccino, eat adobo, sing in church and root for Pacquiao --to be truly Canadian without being less Filipino, to see that to make Canada rich is not to keep the Philippines poor.

My college best buddy Roger Laset is vice president of the Bank of Montreal, lives a good life in Missasauga, sends his two kids to the best schools and plans to contribute his talent to our development after retirement. I was struck when he said to me "I'm glad to have my old friend back" after we talked about going beyond preaching to end poverty in our country.

I guess it is simply time to walk our talk. Then our sons and daughters abroad together with foreigners will come home to build our broken walls and invest their wealth in our shores.

They will come to create prosperity in our beloved homeland that is on the threshold of a major takeoff with a new President who is determined to end poverty and corruption in our country against all odds.

This is our moment to discover what a treasure we truly are.

By being a pro-active participant in nation-building, not a critical bystander, we remove our biggest odd --ourselves.

Canada is in solidarity with our aspirations because it thrives on synergy and reciprocity. What is good for the Philippines will ultimately be good for Canada.

This is what is motivating 17 caring Canadians from Castle Downs to go to the Philippines next January to build a playground for the children of Tarlac. The effort, led by Alberta Minister of Employment and Immigration Thomas Lukaszuk, shows that concern for our country is coming from the top.

This was also evident in the commitment of the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) - Andrew Farncombe and Glenn Miller were with us in three events -to fly our cause. They brought together some top brass from Ryerston University and Brown College to talk about how to move social development from the "happy place" of concepts and theories to where the action is like GK.

My short stay in Canada was simply a feast for my soul from many expressions of caring.

It was in the courage of BLD members not to abandon the poor in our country despite efforts to discourage their work by those in poverty of truth. They fed me faith and patriotism in action.

It was in Richard giving me the gift of his company the whole time I was in Toronto and in Amir who flew in from Montreal as his way of showing he cares for our people.

It was in Agnes and Nonoy helping me remember fond memories in high school and finding ways to convert nostalgia to concrete support for the poor in Negros.

It was in my brief encounter in Vancouver with nesting newly-weds Tom and Tam and hearing their plans to return home next year to start a business and create jobs for the poor in Bicol.

It was in our amazing team -- from the board (Pidoy, Mon, Malou, Jojo, Elvie, and Jimmy) to the last volunteer and supporter -- who showed me that they are our treasures abroad who will help us end poverty at home.

Gawad Kalinga Canada was born out of the abundance of their love for the Philippines.

The team is now ready to serve those in Canada who will help us build homes, schools, farms, water systems, renewable energy, health programs and social enterprises for 5 million of our poorest families and raise the quality of life of an entire nation.

I left Toronto for Chicago sure that the Philippines will be as rich as Canada -- soon.

It is our destiny.

GK Hope in Europe

By Tony Meloto

Everything about Paris felt good that early Autumn morning.

The air was crisp and cool at 15 degrees, the whole countryside on the trip to Versailles was like a Cezanne canvas of ripened yellow and orange leaves stubbornly clinging to the branches against a clear sky that remained ocean blue the whole day. A walk in the magnificent garden of the Palais du Versailles and lunch of ratatouille et poulet at the horse stables - turned into a quaint cafe with blue-topped tables - made an auspicious start of a thoroughly enchanting one week stay in Paris and Vienna.

I am here to set up GK Europe as the bridge of hope between east and west to build together a kinder world. As Europe is home to our people, we will make our country home to Europeans.

On that blissful day of October 14 the world was simply beautiful and no care was in sight. I thought to myself that this beauty cannot remain in France; I must bring this to the Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan where a dozen business students from Ecole Superieure du Commerce de Paris (ESCP) are planning to put up a mini Paris bed and breakfast after they fell in love with the place and made a lasting bond with the villagers.

If I cannot bring our poor to experience the beauty of Paris, I'll bring Paris to our poor. This was what we did with the Character village in Iriga City which was patterned after the breathtakingly beautiful hillside villages of Assissi, Italy I visited seven years ago. The typhoon victims of Bicol did not only deserve a strong roof over their heads but a dignified life on a hilltop paradise surrounded by daisies and babies breath and other tropical blooms, with a magnificent view of Mt Isarog from their balconies. It turned out for me to be more beautiful than Assissi.

Life becomes truly rich and beautiful once it is shared with those who have known poverty and ugliness in life.

It only costs a little more love to create more beauty in this world, a little more caring to turn despair to hope.

I want to thank all for the nuggets of inspiration and the genuine affection I received on this trip, particularly Olivier, Bernie,Espie, Chat and Mayenne in Paris and Jorge, Joy, Erich, Lil, Jun and Ning in Vienna. And of course to Mandy and Elsie for sharing four bottles of fine wine to celebrate the victory of hope over cynicism.

Hope was the dominant theme where ever I went and it was defined for me clearly by many people on many occasions on such a short stay.

It was about being family to 28 young French volunteers coming from three top schools who stayed with us for the summer. They were all there with their videos, power point presentations and inspiring sharings, except for Anne-Sophie and Nicolas Girault who supported their event by designing the flyers despite being away for school. The two organized the volunteer team of Notre Dame and Telecom with their uncle Olivier Girault.

Mayeul of Notre Dame du Grand Champs and his group of four found hope in jail. They moved a crowd of nearly a hundred students and faculty with their memories of the women inmates of a Davao prison who recovered their sense of dignity when their cramped cells were converted into a brightly colored Gawad Kalinga village with vegetable and ornamental gardens and a livelihood center.

*Hope for them was about respect for human dignity that frees the spirit even when the body is bound.

Olivier and Gillaume of Telecom Paris-Tech excitedly took turns in extolling the joy of humanitarian service and adventure of their gang of twelve - sweating it out in building the KLM Village in Bagong Silang or dancing with the villagers in the Amalia village in Concepcion, Tarlac on my wife's birthday (the village with fifty homes donated by a young Englishman was named after her to honor his beloved mother-in-law) or simply taking in the wonder of the Banaue rice terraces - they were all equally energizing to the young band of hope-builders filled with the awe and exuberance of life.

*Hope for them was about the joy of loving without borders.

The twelve apostles of human kindness from ESCP, the business school ranked number one in the world in masters in management by the Financial Times recently, overwhelmed me with their expression of affection for our small people, recounting with fondness every little act of hospitality from those who did not have much to give but gave anyway, generously and joyfully - sharing them their simple meal, some giving them the only bed in the house or fetching water for them from a distant well.

*Hope is when those who have little have much to share and those who have much learn to care more.

Born to comfort and class - three of them flew in from London and two from Madrid to prepare for my visit - the ESCP team expressed deep appreciation for their adopted families in Bulacan despite moments of discomfort living with them. They poured out their affection for our people with a rousing standing ovation at the end of my presentation which moved the crowd to tears. Mayenne Carmona of Philippine Star, Jorge Villanueva of GK Austria and Bernie and Espie Matugas of GK France of course opened the floodgates.

In a continent where our people often do the hard or dirty work, it was a moment of pride and honor when our real beauty was revealed and exalted.

*Hope is about social justice; societal harmony is the fruit of fairness and respect for the value of human rights.

This was in the heart of Olivier Girault, the Orange R&D executive who gave me my room at the Westin and wants to spread the GK bug in France. The history and values of the French are anchored on the spirit of "Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood." Poverty due to social injustice is the root of many areas of conflict in the world and Europe is tired of war.

According to him, this is what attracts them to the GK brand of building viable communities achieved peacefully through compassion and shared value creation where no one has to lose her lovely head for the homeless to have homes and for the hungry to have food.

*To many in the development field, hope is about social entrepreneurship - creating wealth with a greater social benefit, where doing good makes good business sense.

It was in Paris where I received the emailed invitation of Vivian Gee, Schwab Foundation Head for Asia and Associate Director of the World Economic Forum, for me to be part of the World Economic Forum - the group that meets in Davos and other regional centers - for the next five years after getting the award as the Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year, the evening before I left Manila for Paris. Awarding night at Makati Shangrila was exciting surrounded by my family and friends at the AirFrance KLM table led by General Manager Cees Ursem and volunteer mobilizer Tess Zulueta.

Hopefully, with this GK will be recognized as a credible partner of social entrepreneurs and a trusted steward of social venture capital in building communities to end poverty.

*Hope is also in social tourism- seeing the best places while giving the best of one self to bring out the good in every one.

I discussed this concept in Paris on October 15 over breakfast with Marnix Fruitema, AirFrance KLM SVP for Asia Pacific. There is a growing trend he noted for young Europeans to travel and do humanitarian service before taking on a job or pursuing higher studies or getting married after finishing college. Travel and volun-tourism in GK communities would be an attractive proposition for many of them if packaged properly, according to this flying Dutch man who gained my respect for his depth and commitment to social issues. I sealed my friendship with him when he showed sincere concern for the 30 families in the KLM village he visited last year.

*Hope is being happy with those who share our dream of a better world.

After Paris, Vienna intoxicated me for two days of revelry in the company of GK supporters and my Ilonggo tribe, celebrating our dream of a better life for the poorest Filipino. Philippine Ambassador to Austria Lourdes Yparraguire was gracious over lunch and quite optimistic about prospects for bilateral partnerships due to the high confidence in Europe in our new leadership. It was the same optimism exuded earlier by Ambassador to France Rora Tolentino at the dinner she hosted for me in Paris. I am grateful to both not just for the warm welcome but for spreading the hope.

On a personal note, my affinity with Europeans has deepened since my three grandchildren - my little white cappucinos growing up in Manila - are half British, heirs of a father who is the greatest social entrepreneur I know and Europe's gift to my country.

The fact that Europe and Asia are one family is very real for me.

The other reality to me is that Europeans respect the hard work and caring nature of our people and are generally kind and generous to them.

What is emerging is the second generation Filipinos in Europe - including many Eurasians - who speak the language, understand the culture, can compete with the best in the west, do not carry baggages from the past and are genuinely curious to
reconnect with their Asian roots. They will have the best of both worlds, Asia and Europe will be home and trading ground to them.

This trip, and many more to follow, is aimed to build this east-west connection for travel, hospitality, volunteerism, business partnership, friendship and even love and courtship for sustainable relationship (my three children married volunteers).

I have an invitation end January 2011 to speak and set up the first long term European partnership of the GK Builders Institute (GKBI) with the Institut Catholique de Lille, a famous Catholic university in France with a 22000 student population, as arranged by their dynamic student body president Cyril Vinsard who flew in to see me in Paris for a day to extend the invitation.

It is top priority for me also to visit our GK community in Goettingen, Germany that has consistently supported our village for former scavengers at the Payatas dump site in partnership with the Ateneo Alumni Association. It was my deepest regret that I missed my visit to Germany on this trip due to miscommunication on the travel arrangement. The same was true for Dublin, Ireland due to failure to secure a visa on time.

We want Europe to be aware that this is the best time to come to the Philippines.

1. Our country is the undiscovered treasure in Asia for social tourism and humanitarian immersion with over 2000 GK villages as safe and exciting destination for those who want to do good to others. Our Department of Tourism and foreign embassies have promised full support.

2. We have fertile land, rich natural resources and talented people ready for social entrepreneurship. The GK Center for Social Innovation in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Ateneo School of Management can help facilitate partnership and leverage resources for enlightened wealth creation to end poverty.

3. We have a trusted President and a new government determined to end corruption through honest governance and disciplined citizenship.

We are opening the doors wide open for a European invasion of poverty busters. Olivier and our GK alumni in Europe will help set up partnerships with French universities and are aiming for a thousand volunteers to sign up next year. Vienna threatens to do the same.

I hope they will all fly AirFrance and KLM -- the airlines that do not leave the poor behind.

The Courage to Care and Other Lessons from Singapore

By Tony Meloto

How do you say thank you to so many for doing so much to those with much less?

They were there at the 2nd GK Global Summit in Singapore last June 25-27. Kindred spirits and like-hearted souls, patriots and heroes, philanthropists and partners,friends and family - they gathered to celebrate the dream of Filipinos to rise from poverty by 2024, of Asians ending poverty in Asia, of kalinga(caring) and bayanihan (sharing) as the way to a better world.

To the speakers, sponsors, hosts, service teams, delegates and guests, thank you.

The Summit clearly revealed, through insightful talks and inspired stories, that those with the courage to care are able to discover the power of love.

*Love more, live better - was the first lesson of Singapore.

“REJOICE THAT YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN”

Fr. Savio's Reflection - 2nd Gawad Kalinga in Singapore June 25 - 27, 2010

Fr Savio, a catholic priest, is the head of a really famous and well respected monastery in Valencia Bukidnon in Mindanao

I thought I’d share with you a powerful experience I had when I attended the 2nd Gawad Kalinga Global Summit last June 25 – 27, 2010 in Singapore . We were hosted by two schools - Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the National University of Singapore. I had the good fortune of being invited for the summit because I and Bishop Honesto Pacana S.J. serve as spiritual directors for Gawad Kalinga in the province of Bukidnon . My fascination with Gawad Kalinga has grown since that very first day I was introduced to a Gawad Kalinga village in Natid-asan, Malaybalay. It was then that I saw very accomplished people, local and foreign, literally dirtied their hands and carried bricks to build houses for the poor of Malaybalay. What thay did is simply brilliance in the eyes of God! Gawad Kalinga, the movement, has as its goal the eradication of poverty in our country not just by building houses for the homeless but also by providing them education, values formation and livelihood(to mention a few of their programs) so that each village may be self-sustaining and thus provide leadership and example for other villages. It was because of Gawad Kalinga that its founder, Mr. Tony Meloto, received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.

THE GIFT OF GK

Speech of Tony Del Rosario - CEO of Coca-Cola in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen.
What a wonderful day and a half it has been. Having listened to the many major partnerships during Plenary 1 with Fr. Ben Nebres of Ateneo, Ms. Chong Siak Ching CEO of Ascendas, Congressman Freddie Tinga, Governor Lray of CamSur, Jeremy Rowe of Aksonobel, John Miller of Nestle and the heart-warming story of courage of Ms. Jainab AbdulMajid of Sulu, I am honored to be asked to speak before you this morning. The brief to me was to share, not about the Company I work for and its involvement with Gk, but more about my own personal journey and the work I now do with GKHi Singapore. Allow me then to dispense with the powerpoints and videos and share simply from the heart.