COMPOSTELA VALLEY, July 29 (PIA): Couple Jhonrey and Ailyn Isang used to stay at Monkayo Municipal Gymnasium after super Typhoon Pablo caused massive flood that swept their house away in December last year.
Now they are rebuilding their lives with new hope for a much brighter future for their five-year old son, four-year-old daughter and two-week-old baby at Kariyawan Uswag GK Village in Monkayo, Compostela Valley.
Jhonrey begged off recalling how life had been after Typhoon Pablo and before his stay with his family at the GK Village. He’d only like to look forward to spending their lives at the GK Village, leaving behind the wrought that typhoon Pablo had done to their homes, to his family’s life, and to the lives of countless others who suffered the same fate with him.
The family of Jhonrey Isang was one of the 50 beneficiaries of the Gawad Kalinga (GK) housing units which construction was funded P5-million by Malaysian Berjaya Group of Companies Philippines.
Berjaya separately funded another 50 housing units of the same amount, in the municipality of Compostela (Compostela Valley). Same with that in Monkayo, those were also built through Gawad Kalinga volunteer work tied up with Uswag Comval community work initiative of the provincial government.
The Kariyawan Uswag GK Village now takes after the name of Berjaya and renamed into Kariyawan Usway GK Village in honor of the sponsor which sent its country director Paul Soo to join GK founder Antonio “Tony” Meloto and GK Executive Director Jose Luis Oquinena in personally turning over the completely-built housing units to Compostela Valley Gov. Arturo Uy .
In his message, Berjaya Kariyawan Usway GK Kapit-bahayan President Joreniel Elmedo profusely thanked GK and Berjaya for promptly responding to the need for houses of typhoon-hit families especially those who completely lost their houses.
“We were asking ourselves then, where can we now stay? But thanks to Berjaya for these houses,” he said in vernacular as he rallied his fellow GK housing beneficiaries to take good care of the units and to harmonious live with others in the GK community.
Aside from encouraging GK neighbors to follow community rules built on respect, harmony and rule of law, Elmedo asked them to serve as vanguards of environment protection.
Meloto envisioned the GK Villages to become a place imbibed with an essence of “Forbes Park” with vegetable gardens on the sides and trees growing in the surrounding area.
Meloto was hoping the GK neighborhood to live peacefully with “no addicts”, “no gambling” with household members living in harmony among themselves and with their neighbors. He was also looking forward to see GK families engaging in productive livelihood.
On the other, Soo told GK neighbors of his company’s long term support for them saying “we are here to become your partner.”
More than just looking at the accomplished GK houses funded by Berjaya, Soo confessed feeling glad of interacting with GK neighborhood. He also expressed interest to help GK beneficiaries engage in livelihood “in whatever means the LGU would want us to.” (PIA XI/Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)
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