Focolarini exported the sharing economy to Asia
In 1966, the Focolare Movement set foot in Asia, starting in the Philippines. From there, it spread to Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, and India. It is currently involved in banking, businesses, and associations to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots through profit sharing.
Manila (AsiaNews) – For the past 34 years, the Focolare Movement has been committed to bridge the social and economic gap and reduce inequality in the Philippines.
Bukas Palad literally means "open hands" and is the name of the first Focolare social centre, which sprang up in 1983 in Pasay City, Manila, to educate, empower and support the poor, addressing problems of social and economic development.
To date, four Bukas Palad centres have been established in the Philippines catering to needs of thousands of underprivileged families, said Jose Aranas, a Focolare member.
Bukas Palad's basic philosophy is to create a "culture of sharing". Every society has social problems; the same is true for the Philippines. Thousands of slums coexist along with skyscrapers in many cities.
Against this backdrop, the Focolare Movement believes businesses can create a sharing economy with those in great difficulty.
It is crucial to have profit-making companies to have something to share. But it is equally important that entrepreneurs not only be profit-oriented but also benefit the poor by promoting the sharing economy.
At a time when the global economy is growing, so is the gap between rich and poor, Aranas noted. Bukas Palad is one of Focolare's initiatives to foster an economic system in which firms, employees, suppliers and even competitors can work together in a spirit of mutual assistance and reciprocity for the sake of the poor, bridging the gap that keeps them away from social and economic well-being.
Always inspired by Bukas Palad, the Focolare Movement set up another social centre, Pag-asa (Hope), and a housing project called Sulyap ng Pag-asa (Glimmer of hope). The latter has played a crucial role in helping hundreds of victims affected by typhoon Ketsana in 2009, this in an archipelago that receives more than 20 typhoons a year.
Pag-asa is a social expression of the Focolare Movement in the Philippines. It is especially designed to help young people and their families build a future.
It is a duly registered NGO recognised by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Social Welfare Development.
It works with more than 500 youth ranging in age from 2 to 21 years from 300 indigent families living in many villages in Tagaytay City (Manila) providing them with education and vocational training.
This initiative is funded by friends and members of the Focolare Movement around the world. Pag-asa staff includes regular workers and volunteers, local as well as foreign.
The volunteers at the Sinag Hospital are another social expression of the Focolare movement. In government hospitals, staff and equipment are often in short supply compared to the number of patients, due to lack of funding.
In 1986, some Focolare members found a way to love their neighbour in this setting. Since then, they visit hospitals to bring the warmth of God's love, comfort, and consolation to the sick and dying.
To help boys, the Focolare movement also set up a Focolare Carpentry Shop in Cainta, near Manila, in 1968. It is managed by Floro Flores, a married Focolarino.
“"The spirit of love and unity motivated us to begin the Focolare Carpentry Shop,” Flores said. “It is a way to help some young people who did not have the means to study and earn a living.”
“It began with small work shed with two carpenters in Makati (Manila),” he explained. “We have now more than 80 full-time workers in a spacious and modern furniture factory located on a 3,000-square-metre lot in Cainta. We ensure that our products are of outstanding quality and maintain excellent relationship with our clients, designers and carpenters.”
Another significant Focolare initiative is a rural bank, the Bangko Kabayan, a people’s bank set up in 1991, led by a Catholic couple, Francis and Tess.
It now has more than 20 branches across the country, providing jobs to about 340 employees with some 11,000 micro-finance customers.
This bank is as part of alternative economy, where businesses place themselves at the service of others, sharing part of their profits to provide assistance to those in need and promote a new culture of sharing.
"It was for us the chance we had waited for so long – to be part of something that could change society, so that society could become more just and humane," Francis said.
The bank’s special feature is to offer loans to simple micro-entrepreneurs like marginal farmers, fishermen, labourers and other small and medium business people in rural villages. This promotes rural development and theeconomy, often in a spirit of sharing and caring.
There are other social projects started by Focolare members in the Philippines in the environmental field and in prison outreach.
The Focolare Movement is a lay international organisation of the Catholic Church, founded by Chiara Lubich in Italy. It promotes the charism of unity and communion, based on evangelical values, among many faiths, beliefs and religions in different communities.
In 1966, the Focolare Movement set foot in Asia for the first time, starting in the Philippines. From there, it spread to Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, and India.
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