Wednesday, November 21, 2007 GK to target middle-income groups By Edmund B. Sestoso
BAIS CITY -- The Gawad Kalinga, a housing project campaign of the Couples for Christ, is now shifting its gears from targeting the poorest of the poor in society to reaching out to middle-income earners.
Carlo Borromeo, provincial head of the Gawad Kalinga in Negros Oriental, told reporters their campaign is mainly for all Filipinos to have a decent house they can call home where their integrity as a human being will be restored and enhanced.
He said most of their projects in the province had been geared towards sectors or individuals without homes and without stable income.
In Negros Oriental, Borromeo said, there are already 7 Gawad Kalina sites existing and these are in the cities of Bayawan, Dumaguete, and Bais and the town of Mabinay.
Borromeo said he lauded the efforts of the Bayawan City Government where a fisherman's village was converted into a GK Project with 317 family-beneficiaries.
He said Mayor German Sarana is targeting 746 families as beneficiaries for the fisherman's village and funds for the project come purely from the local government unit.
He said they are now into Kawal Kalinga with policemen and military men as beneficiaries. They have basically a stable income but no house they can call their own.
These sectors, he said, also needs the support of Gawad Kalinga.
He also clarified that while it is true that their group is basically one of the mandated organizations under the Roman Catholic Church, they are not using religious beliefs as one of the criteria in choosing beneficiaries.
He said as long as one belongs to the poorest of the poor, then he is qualified to be a beneficiary.
Borromeo is also talking with some members of the group for a possibility of creating a village that is similar to the concept of Kawal Kalinga but for teachers and members of the media.
