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‘Paraiso’ awakens interest of Pinoys to Gawad Kalinga
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
The film "Paraiso: Tatlong Kwento ng Pag-asa" lifted the consciousness of the Pinoys in the Netherlands about the essence of Gawad Kalinga.
Pinoys from different parts of the country flocked to the Museon in The Hague, on June 23 to watch the showing of the trilogy that stars Maricel Soriano, Carmi Martin and Cesar Montano.
The event was a huge success because the organizers achieved their goal of promoting Gawad Kalinga to the Pinoys.
In fact, since the main purpose was to show the work of Gawad Kalinga, the ticket price was set at seven euros or 450 pesos, which is cheaper compared to the normal cinema rate of 8.75 euros.
Event organizer Ben Bernabe says the reason is that they are not asking for a donation or contribution for building a house.
"We just want to show to the people in Europe and Holland that there is something happening in the Philippines at the moment and that is a miracle being done to improve the quality of living of the people below the poverty line," Bernabe told ABS-CBN’s Balitang Europe.
Targeting Pinoys was a very precise move by the organizers because in the Netherlands, Gawad Kalinga is better known by non-Filipinos.
A Dutch who only wants to be identified as Mr.Zuidwijk is a supporter of Gawad Kalinga.
"I like the whole idea about the village building. People working for their own village, building the house themselves, the hardwork for that and the way they put everything from ideas into real facts," Zuidwijk said.
In his speech before the screening of Paraiso, Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Romeo Arguelles informed the Filipino Community about the achievements of the English-speaking Parish of the Hague in raising funds for Gawad Kalinga projects.
In fact, its members already flew to the Philippines in April, bringing the raised money to commence the building of houses in Escalante, Negros Occidental.
"Gawad Kalinga was adopted by our English-speaking parish in the Hague as a project for the Lenten campaign in the year 2007 to 2008. Because many people were very active in this fund raising, the parish was able to raise 54,000 euros (3.5 million pesos)," Arguelles told an applauding crowd.
That amount will be doubled by a counter fund from a non-governmental organization and the Dutch government so that the project will be able to build more than one hundred houses in Escalante.
Arguelles has a weakness towards the Gawad Kalinga projects that are being undertaken right now in Escalante since he had a first-hand experience at building houses.
"We went on the site, we had a ground-breaking ceremony and many of us were part of the house-building. We were doing carpentry work, masonry work to build these villages. We talked to the people who were going to live there, because you can’t own a Gawad Kalinga house unless you yourself help in building your own house and building your neighbors house. You call it sweat equity," Arguelles said.
"Another beautiful thing about Gawad Kalinga is it’s not just giving you a home. It’s giving you your dignity and your honor because if you are no longer living in the slums, if you are no longer in the squatters area and you have the pride of owning a home, you have the pride of becoming a good citizen of that community," Arguelles added to inspire the crowd.
A strong believer in Gawad Kalinga, Arguelles did not waste any minute and endorsed the organization that has evolved from a daring initiative into a major movement for nation-building.
"I think we who are overseas, Filipinos overseas, our friends overseas can help in their own way whether its one euro or ten euros or one-thousand euros in building this Gawad Kalinga community, so I would like to encourage all of us, all of you to help this project. This is the most effective non-governmental housing project that I know of," Arguelles said, to the applause of the now supportive crowd.
Of the three stories of hope, the Pinoys were moved to tears by "Umiyak Man Ang Langit" where Soriano plays the role of a mother who lost a daughter and sister to the landslide in Liloan, Southern Leyte.
A Pinay domestic helper, Ludivina Paras was deeply touched by the story.
"Nakakaiyak. Naawa ako sa mga kababayan natin kaya handa akong tumulong," Paras said.
She also said that she easily identified with Soriano’s character being a victim herself of the
Mount Pinatubo disaster which wreaked havoc in her hometown in Porac, Pampanga.
It took a simple movie borne out of the "bayanihan" spirit to remind Filipinos working overseas that no matter how miserable they may feel in this corner of the world, they are still luckier than the three types of Pinoys in the Philippines…the landless, the homeless and the hungry.
SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/
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