“People power” builds a village for the country’s poorest.
Jaro (AsiaNews) – A housing project to shelter poor families in the village of Buntala in the Philippine Archdiocese of Jaro is the objective of a new movement, called “People power”. Drawing together rich and poor alike, the project is financed through donations from the city’s main industries, religious groups, foreign workers and government offices and inspired by the work of a non governmental organisation of Catholic origins. The project foresees the construction of 114 houses destined for the families of workers from the local parish and other Catholic institutions, in contact with the Archdiocese for over 10 years.
Antonio Meloto, housing project executive director, said the housing project has helped build 1,000 communities that now house 100,000 families or 500,000 Filipinos, adding “poverty could be significantly reduced if the rich families and big corporations shared their wealth in helping provide decent homes for the poor”.
Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, says “this is the new kind of people power that the country needed, 21 years after the peaceful Edsa Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. If People Power liberated the country from the dictatorship, the People Power which is Gawad Kalinga is liberating the people from the dictatorship of poverty, homelessness and economic control”. The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) defined this movement as “People power”.
The Archbishop underlined that this ideal brings people together, rich and poor, and people from all levels of society, to resolve one of the Country’s problems.
Msgr. Meliton Oso, archdiocesan social action centre director, said the project was consistent with the Church’s mission to help address the lack of houses of about 600,000 families in the country. Oso affirms: “This village is a gift for those who have faithfully served the Church through the years even if they received low wages. This is the first national project in favour of Catholic Church employees”.
The archdiocese donated 1.6 hectares of land for the project and tapped the housing projects to build the homes. The Lopez Group of Companies, headed by Oscar Lopez, and the Association of Ilonggos in Washington D.C. provided the funds. Lopez Group shouldered the building of 50 units, while the Association of Ilonggos raised the funds for 57 units. The Jaro Archdiocese funded seven units.
Meloto, said other dioceses are learning from the experience of the Jaro Archdiocese and want to build their own villages. The reaction of the local population demonstrates their enthusiasm for the project. Sotero Tubula, 62, said he was happy that after 43 years of working at the St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary, he would finally have his own house. He and his family, along with the families of his two children, used to stay in a house on a government lot in village San Vicente in Jaro. His reaction to the news: “I feel like I have received heaven. God has given us this gift”.
Luz Emperado, 51, said she and her three children were happy. The two-bedroom duplex unit, measuring 20 square meters, may not be big but it is more than enough for them, he said: “We never expected that my long service for the Church would be rewarded with this. We are very grateful”.
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09/07/2018 08:42
28/07/2007
