11- GK Expo

On the 6th of October I went to Manila to assist with the preparations for the 5th annual GK expo on Saturday 11th. I was hosted for the week by a lovely couple in their early 30’s. Dylan is English and his story is a very inspirational one. He grew up in a poor area of Leeds but became the 9th richest man in the U.K. by age 25 thanks to the dotcom boom. But, while he was doing very well for himself, he found little fulfilment in his material wealth. On a visit to the Philippines he was so inspired by Tony Meloto (the founder of GK) he left his former life behind to work fulltime for GK. There’s one GK village called the BMW village because it was funded by the sale of his BMW in the UK! He ended up marrying Anna, the daughter of Tony Meloto and they now have two very cute little daughters.

Before the expo preparations got into full swing, Leonard, another AYAD working for GK in Manila, took me on a tour of some of the GK villages for a day. It was interesting and useful to compare the urban scale housing in Manila with the more rural scale villages we build in the province.

The site for the expo was situated on some yet-to-be-developed land in the midst of the richest area of Manila. There couldn’t have been a more poignant location to highlight the divide between rich and poor. As the preparations for the expo got underway, I began to realise just what a massive organisation GK is. 1,500 villages are now up and running throughout the country, a further 200 proposed or being built. Each village has an average of 50 houses. So that’s 75,000 families (375,000 men, women and children) that are no longer slum dwellers but own their own home and are functioning members of a community. And to make it all happen are the thousands of committed volunteers who donate their time and talents and the partners who provide the funding. 25 of the 1,500 villages have been funded by organisations, corporations or individuals in Australia. The goal is to build 7,000 GK communities by 2010.

During the expo preparations, I was tasked with supervising the construction of the 35x15 feet billboards to mark each of the 4 corners of the expo site. I was given a team of 16 volunteers (beneficiaries of GK houses), some scaffolding, steel poles, steel bar, wire, clamps and the 4 posters. Meanwhile, within these 4 corners, the site was a hive of activity with other teams of volunteers from all over the Philippines erecting tents, building model GK houses, laying paving, erecting displays, constructing a stage etc etc.

Participating in the preparation for the expo was a good opportunity to meet people who work for GK all over the Philippines and had also come early to help out. It was interesting that with each new person I met, more or less the conversation followed the same pattern. Firstly it was assumed that I’m part of Singles/Couples for Christ or at least a member of a partnering Catholic organisation. I explain that I’m actually not catholic, I was sent by the Australian government, on the Australian Youth Ambassador for Development Program. From the ‘youth’ in the title it was assumed I’m still studying. They find it hard to believe I’m already an Architect. So after we’ve established that I’m 28, but no I’m not married yet, and much to their astonishment, no I don’t have any brothers or sisters, the next question is, “so your parents were ok with you leaving them for 10 months to come to the Philippines?”. First I have to explain that I haven’t lived with my parents for about 6 years now. That causes more confusion because in the Philippines it’s rare to move out until you’re married and even then, your spouse will probably move in. Which usually leads to the question where do my parents live in Australia? Then I have to explain that my parents are divorced. This then leads to a discussion about how divorce is rare and frowned upon in the Philippines and the expression of pride in the Philippino family values. (Yes, the close family ties is a very admirable trait of the Philippinos, but neither does it mean that every marriage is rosy!) So then they want to know if I was not living with my parents, where was I living? I just say renting because by this point I’ll only make things worse by saying I live with my boyfriend! If they haven’t already asked by now, the next question will for certain be whether I have a boyfriend. When I say yes, we’ve been together for 4.5 years there’s outrage at why we’re not married yet, when are we getting married and how many children are we going to have?!

Anyway, getting back to the expo. On the big day itself, over 100,000 people attended travelling from all over the country and the world! They included residents of GK villages, builders, workers, volunteers, partners from the government, corporate sector, academia, NGOs, religious organizations and civil society. The intense heat neither drove them away nor lessened their enthusiasm. The day began with a fun run at 5.30am which I was registered to participate in only I overslept and missed it! I spent the morning walking around the exhibits. There were mock up GK houses. There was an environmental section with information on low cost sustainable waste water systems, solar lighting and ventilation. A model farm was also set up growing vegetables. There were market stalls selling products made in GK villages as part of their livelihood program, such as bags made from recycled juice packets and candles with the GK logo on them. There was also information for prospective new volunteers about how they could get involved in any of the 7 GK Programs (Community Infrastructure, Community Health, Child & Youth Development, Productivity, Environment, Hospitality, Community Empowerment). The 2 major mobile phone companies were also on hand to register people to receive text messages whenever there is an event happening in your area where volunteers are needed.

Meanwhile,for the kids, a continuous birthday party was being held in celebration of GK's 5th anniversary. Many of the kids who attended have never had a birthday party or a birthday cake before in their lives.

In the afternoon there was a play and a choral performance by groups of young performers from GK villages. The choir is a bit like the Philippino version of the Choir of hard knocks. These were kids that before GK came along had no prospects and condemned to a life of poverty. Now they are part of a world class choir. They recently returned from performing in Indonesia!

Later in the afternoon was the “March of Heros” where 40,000 rich and poor marched together. There were everything from companies who had donated funding, to volunteers who had spent their weekends building. Some even had decorated floats for the parade.

My new Manila friend, Imelda, came to the expo and brought a couple of friends with her. We had met on the plane from Bacolod and exchanged numbers. She travels around the Philippines regularly, selling a line of Philippino sandles to the department stores (and with a name like Imelda, being in the shoe industry seems very appropriate!) They were impressed by the expo and the work of GK and wanted to know how they could help. They said it was a little bit embarrassing for them that a foreigner like me comes here to help out the poor in their country and yet there are plenty of Philippino’s who have the time, talents or treasures but don’t share them. Imelda committed to donating sandals to all the children in a GK village near her home town.

As it got dark, everyone came together for a concert in celebration of the work and achievements of GK. Well known Philippino artists performed for free. The concert was streamed live via the internet worldwide. There was such a happy party atmosphere and the night culminated in a fireworks display.

We were all wearing the GK Expo T-shirts that had been printed for the occasion with the catch cry “Walang Iwanan” or “No-one is left behind”. So it was rather ironic that at the end of the night, my lift left without me and I had to catch a taxi!

All in all, the Expo was a great event to be a part of and a fitting celebration of a very successful organisation and its achievements … with plenty more work to be done!