Philippine anti-poverty organisation, Gawad Kalinga’s third annual Global Summit will be held at Sydney University from October 14-16.
Like the first two Summits held in Boston, USA and Singapore, delegates from all over the world are expected to attend the Summit to hear about Gawad Kalinga’s work in the Philippines, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. It will also be a chance for Australians and others who have not heard of GK to learn about it and the opportunities that it affords people to engage in partnership with communities to support them in overcoming poverty and disadvantage.
Chair of GK Australia, Andrew Chalk, believes that the Philippines has come up with a model of community development that can be adapted to the challenges facing many communities in Australia and other countries in the region.
The Philippines has developed something that can possibly help to change what has been one of Australia’s greatest issues: “The path by which Aboriginal people rebuild confidence and opportunity to enjoy an equal role in the wider Australian society, including its social and economic life, on terms that respect their own values and unique culture.”
Mr Chalk has worked with Aboriginal communities for over twenty years in the areas of land rights and native title. While he acknowledged the importance of the land that has been handed back to Aboriginal communities, he also acknowledges that land ownership of itself has not always translated to beneficial economic and social outcomes. He hopes that GK, with its emphasis on shared relationships and care as the basis for building confidence and dignity, will be a way of engaging some communities, and particularly the men in those communities, to find their place in Australian society. He added, “GK offers an approach to restore the confidence and capability of all marginalised peoples, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike.”
On a recent visit to Sydney, GK Director, Issa Cuevas-Santos pointed out that Australia is a big part of GK’s history. It was here that GK’s founder, Tony Meloto first came to understand that he needed to return to the Philippines in order to engage with the poor. That prayer in itself, while important, was not enough. He needed to do something practical.