The Philippines has a huge problem with not only poverty, but squatters, people living illegally on property they don't own. Such situations commonly arise when a landowner hires someone, usually someone from the provinces looking for better employment in the cities, to take care of their land. While the landowner is gone, the caretaker invites extended family members also looking for better employment in the cities to stay with him for a week or two. Filipinos are very hospitable, and what started as a week or two may turn into months and eventually years; the caretaker won't kick out his family from his own home. In the meantime, however, that extended family might tell more family and friends about where they're living and the opportunity available in the cities, who will set up a new home on this piece of land that no one living on it owns, and who in turn will tell more people. And that's how a squatter colony is born. (Source: Jerick, a fellow GK worker)
If the land is needed for development, then the landowner will kick out the squatters; this is why, at least in Manila, most squatter colonies are located near landfills, where no one wants to live or develop. The squatters find that opportunity in the cities is not as plentiful or as profitable as they thought, especially if they lack specialized skills or an advanced degree, so they turn to scavenging the nearby landfill or engaging in illicit activities. And because they are living where they are illegally, they are outside the sphere of government protection, which consequently means they are at the mercy of syndicates, i.e. organized crime, who use brute force to control the squatter colony's access to illegally-tapped power and water lines, meaning they can extort the squatters for prices double what other residents pay. The syndicates also control the sale of drugs, which squatters are more likely to use in order to escape their daily doldrums.
The economic cycle of poverty is clearly illustrated by these anecdotes: squatters are not making much money; they have a higher cost of living because they are extorted by syndicates; and they're abusing drugs, which decreases motivation and hence productivity. But psychologically, what is happening? Squatters are spit upon by Philippine society; they are the outcasts, the spurned, the forgotten. No one wants to touch them; they are modern-day lepers.
But that's where GK comes in, and this is the most difficult part to explain about the organization. GK focuses on squatter colonies and it addresses the economic aspects of Philippine poverty; its shelter and productivity programs enable squatters to buy back their land and develop specialized skills in order to make money. Yet it is the psychological, even spiritual, aspect, that is what makes GK special, and what most people don't see. The work of GK is to restore dignity to the poor; the idea is that once the impoverished can believe in themselves, then they will want to own their own home, get a better job, and kick off drugs.
According to University of the Philippines studies, the average income in GK villages has actually decreased because the men are busy building houses or engaged in legal activities that pay less than illegal ones; nonetheless, happiness in the village and a positive outlook for the future has increased.
Today (or last week--I'm really behind in my blog posts), I visited Citigroup Village in Malacanyang Dulo (yes Citigroup Village--like PBA teams, villages are named after their corporate sponsors). This is what the entire village used to look like:
Most of it still looks like that. The roads are unpaved; there's a lot of trash; and there's even more flies. The smell is terrible; a couple of people were urinating in the street. And children are busy sweeping rubble:
Now here's how the village is starting to look:
This part, although a small part, is a lot cleaner and brighter. Here's how the pre-school looks:
The people sitting there are part of the caretaker team. Every GK village needs a group of local volunteers to help implement the programs and make the transition from a slum to a community. It also ties into GK's philosophy of dignity restoration; these volunteers are not afraid to reach out and touch their neighbor, leper or not.
Most volunteers tend to come from an organization called Couples for Christ, which serves the volunteer backbone for GK. I'll get into GK and religion in a later post.
Here are the villagers hard at work:
Here's me trying to learn what I can:
On the left is Jerick. He's a recent graduate of Ateneo University who works fulltime in the GK National Office, and he's in charge of evaluating the progress of GK villages in southern Manila. Many people in the office are young.
Of course I make time to play with the kids: (the knight doesn't move that way!)
And here's a video of a caretaker team member interviewing a villager. It's in Tagalog, so ask your parents to translate, 'cause I sure as heck don't know what she's saying:
If the land is needed for development, then the landowner will kick out the squatters; this is why, at least in Manila, most squatter colonies are located near landfills, where no one wants to live or develop. The squatters find that opportunity in the cities is not as plentiful or as profitable as they thought, especially if they lack specialized skills or an advanced degree, so they turn to scavenging the nearby landfill or engaging in illicit activities. And because they are living where they are illegally, they are outside the sphere of government protection, which consequently means they are at the mercy of syndicates, i.e. organized crime, who use brute force to control the squatter colony's access to illegally-tapped power and water lines, meaning they can extort the squatters for prices double what other residents pay. The syndicates also control the sale of drugs, which squatters are more likely to use in order to escape their daily doldrums.
The economic cycle of poverty is clearly illustrated by these anecdotes: squatters are not making much money; they have a higher cost of living because they are extorted by syndicates; and they're abusing drugs, which decreases motivation and hence productivity. But psychologically, what is happening? Squatters are spit upon by Philippine society; they are the outcasts, the spurned, the forgotten. No one wants to touch them; they are modern-day lepers.
But that's where GK comes in, and this is the most difficult part to explain about the organization. GK focuses on squatter colonies and it addresses the economic aspects of Philippine poverty; its shelter and productivity programs enable squatters to buy back their land and develop specialized skills in order to make money. Yet it is the psychological, even spiritual, aspect, that is what makes GK special, and what most people don't see. The work of GK is to restore dignity to the poor; the idea is that once the impoverished can believe in themselves, then they will want to own their own home, get a better job, and kick off drugs.
According to University of the Philippines studies, the average income in GK villages has actually decreased because the men are busy building houses or engaged in legal activities that pay less than illegal ones; nonetheless, happiness in the village and a positive outlook for the future has increased.
Today (or last week--I'm really behind in my blog posts), I visited Citigroup Village in Malacanyang Dulo (yes Citigroup Village--like PBA teams, villages are named after their corporate sponsors). This is what the entire village used to look like:
Most of it still looks like that. The roads are unpaved; there's a lot of trash; and there's even more flies. The smell is terrible; a couple of people were urinating in the street. And children are busy sweeping rubble:
Now here's how the village is starting to look:
This part, although a small part, is a lot cleaner and brighter. Here's how the pre-school looks:
The people sitting there are part of the caretaker team. Every GK village needs a group of local volunteers to help implement the programs and make the transition from a slum to a community. It also ties into GK's philosophy of dignity restoration; these volunteers are not afraid to reach out and touch their neighbor, leper or not.
Most volunteers tend to come from an organization called Couples for Christ, which serves the volunteer backbone for GK. I'll get into GK and religion in a later post.
Here are the villagers hard at work:
Here's me trying to learn what I can:
On the left is Jerick. He's a recent graduate of Ateneo University who works fulltime in the GK National Office, and he's in charge of evaluating the progress of GK villages in southern Manila. Many people in the office are young.
Of course I make time to play with the kids: (the knight doesn't move that way!)
And here's a video of a caretaker team member interviewing a villager. It's in Tagalog, so ask your parents to translate, 'cause I sure as heck don't know what she's saying:
I know my explanations are not very scientific or precise right now; the topic is too broad and GK is too intricate to explain in one or several blog posts (which is why I'm writing a paper on the subject). The only real way to understand it all is to come to the Philippines and do a GK tour--so visit!
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