Tri-County Residents Bring Hope to the Philippines' Poorest of the Poor

Despite the chill of the Friday evening on November 9 in Rancho Cucamonga, Gawad Kalinga Advocates came one after another to check-in their tickets at the front doors of Sacred Heart Catholic Church to view "Paraiso - The GK Movie," a Filipino movie with English subtitles. Viewers came from cities as far as Thousand Oaks, Moreno Valley, and Burbank to watch the movie trilogy. I was fortunate to participate in the ticket sales committee for this event as well as perform with the Sacred Heart Filipino Choir during the pre-show medley.

Volunteers from the Filipino Cursillo in Christianity of the Diocese of San Bernardino (FCIC-DSB) greeted the GK Advocates with smiling faces and an extreme willingness to promote the cause of the event. Snacks, water and souvenir books were also sold at the entryway to raise additional funds for Gawad Kalinga (GK). Informative brochures & displays were showcased at the foyer to gain additional advocacy for GK.

GK is an organization that helps build communities for the poorest of the poor in the Philippines. As one of their main Apostolic actions, FCIC-DSB has selected Gawad Kalinga as the charity to concentrate their efforts per Len Robrigado, FCIC-DSB - School of Leaders Chairperson. Being that 98% of FCIC-DSB are Filipino-Americans, many have the innate desire to help their Philippine countrymen & women who are living in extreme poverty stricken conditions. According to Chito & Nelly Peralta - FCIC-DSB Paraiso Event Chairperson, "Advocacy, volunteerism and service in Gawad Kalinga is the resounding response to God's call of our responsibility towards the least of our brethren."

Under the direction of Raul Cancio, the evening began with the "Star Spangled Banner" & the "Filipino National Anthem" sung in acapella by the Sacred Heart Filipino Choir. A prayer by Father Cris Subosa was then shared & an introduction by an Ancop representative and Len Robrigado (FCIC-DSB). Gene Gono, Lay Director of FCIC-DSB, welcomed the crowd. Event chairpersons, Chito & Nelly Peralta, expressed gratitude to all the sponsors who participated in the souvenir program, the volunteers, Dr. Newburn, Sacred Heart Pastoral Coordinator, as well as the Filipino Ministry of Sacred Heart. In honor of their contributions, the sponsors then marched down the aisles waving Filipino Flags dressed in traditional barongs. Two GK Advocates, Caucasians from Great Britain who now resides in the Philippines and another from Seattle, Washington, shared their inspiring & touching stories about their personal involvement with Gawad Kalinga. Both had married Filipinos and had felt an unbreakable bond with the Filipino people which motivates them to give back to the Philippines.

After all the speakers shared their stories, the Sacred Heart Filipino Choir sang the heartfelt theme song of the movie "Paraiso" composed by Ryan Cayabab. The song seemed to gain greater meaning after having listened to the stories of the two Caucasian GK Advocates. From the choir loft, I could estimate an attendance of over 800 GK advocates present for the movie trilogy.

The movie immediately commenced after the theme song was sung. The trilogy was comprised of three real life stories that somehow was touched by Gawad Kalinga in one way or another:

1. "Umiyak Man ang Langit" (Even if Heaven Cries) - is a dramatic story about the Llorente Family and their tragic experience during the mudslides that occurred in February 2006 in Southern Leyte, Philippines. GK was the organization that helped re-build their community after the disaster.

2. "Ang Kapatid Kong si Elvis" (My Brother Elvis) - is a comedic parody about Michael & the Paler Family. Michael was a neglected 8 year old boy, who suffered from the ingestion of stones, parasites, & a distended belly; he was found, treated & adopted by Dr. Paler, a GK Advocate.

3. "Marie" - is also a dramatic story portraying the death of an Italian-American woman, a victim of 9-11, who was married to a Filipino-American. Because her desire to help the poor children of the Philippines grew while she vacationed there, her husband donated the 9-11 benefit he received for her death to go towards GK.

"Paraiso - The GK Movie" was the vehicle that brought over 800 GK Advocates together to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga. 800 in attendance equates to approximately $8000 from ticket sales alone. In addition, per Chito Peralta, FCIC-DSB Event Chairperson, approximately over $7,000 was raised from donations received from ads in the souvenir programs. This $15,000 gross total does not include food sales, program sales and tickets that were bought from people who could not make it to the movie. Final totals to be tallied in the next few days. Although the amount of funds raised was awesome, the greater goal was to further deepen and increase GK advocacy.