Season of Love

Sharing with you a story written by one of my favorite living heroines.

GK Moments - A Journey of Love
By Issa Cuevas-Santos
wife, mom, missionary

It's a couple of hours before my flight back home to the Philippines. It's been several days since the historic GK Global Summit in Boston ended, but I can still feel that all too familiar lump in my throat whenever I think of what just transpired. I've gone around Boston and LA, and people continue to tell me their own Summit experience. Each one has a favorite speech, joke or conversation, but one thing is very clear.

This Summit was life-changing for all of us. It is especially meaningful for me. 2009 is my 10th year as a fulltime worker for GK, and I am also turning 30. And it is the pivotal year before we reach our first major milestone - GK777 on World Hope Day, October 10, 2010.

A lot has changed in the past ten years. In the early days, we would go around the country talking about Gawad Kalinga or GK, and nobody knew what it was. Today, I wear a GK shirt and it starts a conversation.

We would usually have "conferences" in small rooms in various parts of the country. We only needed a small venue because there weren't a lot of volunteers or caretakers. It was like the voice of one (actually, three, Tito Tones, Luis and me) calling out in the desert. Last weekend, we found ourselves presenting GK to the world, in Boston, the most prestigious academic setting in the world. The voice has been heard, and the world is now listening.

In those days, the who's who in government were difficult to reach. Thankfully, Tito Tony never asked us to. He said, "Just build, and they will come." And so we built, and they have come. In the Summit, we had the Vice President Noli De Castro, 2 senators (Sen. Pangilinan and Sen. Zubiri), 1 cabinet secretary (Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap), 1 congressman (Cong. Rufus Rodriguez), 3 governors (Cam Sur Gov LRay Villafuerte, Sorsogon Gov Sally Lee, Tarlac Gov Victor Yap), 3 former cabinet secretaries (Nonong Cruz, Bebet Gozun, Tony Gonzalez), several mayors (Paranaque Mayor Bernabe, Taguig Mayor Tinga, Makati Mayor Binay, Iloilo Mayor Trenas, Dingle Mayor Palabrica, Pototan Mayor Perez, Gerona Mayor Go, San Isidro Mayor Lorenzo, St. Bernard Mayor Rentuza, Daet Mayor Sarion, Murcia Mayor Coscolluela). They represent the more than 400 towns and cities that GK is currently in partnership with.

Some people said it would be difficult to get big business to be part of what we wanted to do. And yet the Summit gathered Globe's Gerry Ablaza, Shell Country Chairman Ed Chua, PLDT-Smart Foundation President Butch Meilly, Saladmaster President Keith Peterson, Angelo King Foundation's Archie King, Former Wyeth Philippines Chairman Boy de Claro, ODM Chairman Tony Olaes, Former Businessman of the Year Cito Lorenzo. They, together with the over 200 major corporations that GK is in partnership with, have made nation-building their business.

However, in all these ten years, there is one thing that remains constant and unchanging - the courageous love of the GK volunteer.

It is this unrelenting passion to give beyond oneself that has propelled GK to the global stage, with world leaders now listening. It this unwavering commitment to the mission that has inspired countries like India and Columbia to come to the Philippines and ask to be trained on the GK Way, an emerging global template for development.

This was very clearly captured in every speech, and more importantly, in the everyday actions of those that comprise GK's massive army on the ground, and all over the world. It was the driving force behind the awe-inspiring work of the Boston team led by Eugene and Evita Florendo, behind the bold decision of many from the Philippines and all over the world to converge in Boston despite difficult times.

I know, with much conviction, that it is this clarity of mission that inspired many of the speeches of the speakers during the Summit. Allow me to share some with you.
Tony Olaes, a successful second generation Filipino American based in the US, thanked Gawad Kalinga for giving him back his identity and pride as a Filipino - the small work that we do everyday, quietly and faithfully, in every GK community is breathing new life to a whole generation of Filipinos throughout the world who do not know their heritage. We are building the highways of the heart back to the motherland.

Ed Chua said that GK had all the qualities that corporations were looking for in a partner - transparency, accountability, track record. I continue to stand in awe at the fact that GK is such a young organization, with very Filipino roots, and yet multinationals are flocking to the work because they value the integrity of the people behind the cause.

I was especially touched with Mayor Freddie Tinga, who very humbly accepted that a lot of people looked at government officials with great distrust. And so he tells big developers in Taguig who doubt his administration to just give their government compliance for 20% socialized housing directly to Gawad Kalinga. He does with confidence because everything given to GK is leveraged, and his constituents can only get greater benefits through the GK model. His actions honor the silent but critical work of our caretakers.

Bukas Loob sa Diyos, also came in full force to the Summit, and it was wonderful to see many more communities getting involved. The history of organizations within the Catholic Church is sometimes filled with its own stories of division, but GK has been able to successfully unite not only people of various faiths, but even organizations belonging to the same faith. CFC Director Joe Tale reiterated there was no split between CFC and GK, and that no member would be asked to choose between the two. This was wonderful to hear, and it was symbolic to see our brethren in Couples for Christ standing right alongside BLD as community caretakers - it is this convergence that will break the chains of poverty.

I chanced upon Gerry Ablaza during breakfast on Sunday, and he told me that he had arrived the night before, and was leaving the following day -- he was only there for the Summit. He shared that he didn't think he could still make these short trips, but he would gladly do anything for GK because he was simply honored to be part of it. But someone that surprised me was really Archie King and his wife, who stayed throughout the whole Summit and really participated in all the activities. He spoke with his heart on the last day, sharing how difficult it was to actually "spend" money because credible organizations were hard to find. He spoke of his deep admiration for the people behind GK, and said that he was overwhelmed with the passion that he could feel pulsating in the conference venue for the three days that he was there.

Secretary Arthur Yap said during his speech that GK was able to gather people who would most likely not sit together in the same room, if not for GK's transcendent cause. I looked at our delegates then - some of them very "simple" people, some the most powerful in their areas of influence, others had given so much financially while others had given so much of themselves in service... It was true. Our paths would not have crossed, and our lives would not be so intimately linked to one another through the mission, if not for Gawad Kalinga.

But perhaps what was most meaningful for me were the observations of Dean Laurence Simon of Brandeis University. He was asked to be a reactor for the Food and Health workshop which I was lucky to be part of, so please allow me to share them with you.

He said that he was very struck by the outstanding achievements of Gawad Kalinga despite its young age as an organization. He especially shared how pleased he was to see that GK obviously had faith-based roots, but it was not afraid to expand and reach out to become a global movement beyond just small communities. He said he had studied many such organizations from various countries in the past, and although many had been successful in the areas where they operated, very few were able to expand to the scale that he was seeing in GK. He was particularly struck by the Health presentation, which highlighted that GK was God's healing hands at work. He said this was a very bold proclamation that the world needed to hear, and GK was now becoming the strong voice that the world would listen to.

I saw all the GK presentations, and not once did any of the speakers mention social justice. And yet, he said he could see very clearly that GK was striking at the very heart of poverty, addressing its very roots -- social justice. He said GK dared to ask the difficult questions -- not just why is the man hungry, or why is a child malnourished. Instead, GK asks, why is there poverty in the world and challenges every person to do something about it.

He was so inspired by GK that he decided, on the spot, to give one full scholarship to any person that Gawad Kalinga chooses, to Brandeis University. I am confident that this is how the world will respond to the outstanding work that we have all done together, and the floodgates will just open for GK.

His words only affirmed one thing -- the mission is clear. We may not always have the right words to describe it, but our actions and the work that we do is the most powerful testament to what is in our heart. This point of realization is now part of my list of "GK moments."

Luis challenged delegates to capture these "GK moments," and from there draw out their own declarations because this is what would change the world. My declaration remains the same.
I gladly offer all that I am, and all that I hope to be, to the service of my God and my country.

I saw Tony del Rosario come up with his wife Annette, and kids Maiki and Xavi. I knew then that I was looking at the future, and my heart felt peace knowing that the work we started many years ago in Bagong Silang will be continued by the next generation. They are in place, they are ready to make their declaration.

What is yours?

I have asked myself many times how we are going to measure the success of the Summit, and what we have achieved together in the past ten years. It is now dawning on me that the most powerful measure is our LOVE. Our love for God. Our love for country. Our love for the poor. Our love for each other. It is this ONE LOVE that will unite our country, that will build our nation, and that will inspire the world to end poverty.

Love is the greatest measure, and our cup doth overflow.

I am reminded of the lyrics of my favorite Rent song, Seasons of Love :

"525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear
525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?

How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of love."

It has been the greatest privilege to share so many seasons of love with you throughout the years. I look forward to a lifetime of service with all of you. On to 2024!