Gawad Kalinga wins intl award for ‘modern-day heroes’

It was a holiday in honor of Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio – the perfect timing for the announcement of a new international award for “modern-day hero” Gawad Kalinga (GK), the group said on its Facebook page Wednesday.   GK, a group that builds homes and provides holistic formation for poor communities, will receive the 2012 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, said the award-giving foundation based in Palo Alto, California.   The Skoll Foundation will give the 2012 awards to four organizations that “offer scalable, proven solutions to some of the world’s most daunting problems,” said the foundation’s president and chief executive officer Sally Osberg.   “Good news, Filipinos!” GK said on its Facebook page. “Modern-day heroes – ordinary Filipinos living extraordinarily for the poor among us – [are] recognized by the Skoll Foundation [for] bringing pride to the greatness of the Filipino spirit”   GMA News Online is still trying to reach GK representatives for comment as of posting time.   In his reaction posted on the Skoll Foundation website, GK chairperson Tony Meloto said the award “is an affirmation of hope-builders and poverty-busters.”   “The challenge before us is to scale to reach more communities in desperate need. We see a great opportunity, now, to bring our model to many parts of the world where the debilitating effects of poverty hamper the progress of nations and burden their people,” Meloto said.   Transforming slums   In its citation for GK, the Skoll Foundation said the group “transforms slums into peaceful and productive communities.”   The foundation also recognized the Philippine-based organization for combating poverty in 2,000 communities in different countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.   “Engaging all sectors of society, mobilizing them to work together to end poverty, the organization is building a global army of volunteers on the ground and online, working with schools, corporations, and other organized institutions to mainstream a culture of caring and sharing,” the Skoll Foundation explained.   Skoll Foundation’s Osberg added, “Gawad Kalinga brings new perspective to our growing portfolio of social entrepreneurs tackling poverty. With their deliberate focus on values formation and partnerships, Tony Meloto, Luis Oquineña, and their team have transformed large swathes of the Philippines.”   “And they’ve successfully replicated the model in urban and rural environments, at half the cost of alternative interventions,” Osberg said.   Support grant   The Skoll Award comes with a “core support grant to the organization to be paid over three years and a non-cash award to the social entrepreneur that is presented at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship,” the Skoll Foundation said on its website.   The foundation employs an “open application” process to be considered for the Skoll Award.   The three other awardees include the land rights group Landesa, the Indian workers’ group Nidan, and the Myanmar-based farmer advocacy group Proximity Designs. - VVP, GMA News