Thanks to everyone who came out to Global Potential’s Party for a Purpose last Friday. GP raised over $3,000 for their July trip to the Dominican Republic, which will greatly help support their travel and living expenses. Check out global-potential.org for more info on upcoming fundraisers and news on the group’s progress over the summer. Thanks again

A few years ago I was introduced to Gawad Kalinga, a progressive organization that seeks to alleviate poverty in the Philippines and surrounding third-world countries by teaching communities the skills they need to build their own homes. A friend of mine is actively involved in the project, as he’s from the Philippines, and I was quite taken with its innovative multidisciplinary concept.

GK’s strategy is to build from the ground up, literally. Instead of implementing complicated programs that don’t properly assess the specific needs of an area, Gawad provides the most basic needs to serve as a foundation for building on. Their mission is to provide each poverty-stricken family with proper housing, land, and basic food essentials, which will in turn improve their daily quality of life, which will in turn lead to improvement on a grander scale.

As people learn the tools to help each other, they learn to help themselves. The end result is the development of crucial skills that people can use to better their own lives and those of their community members. In addition to learning basic carpentry skills, people also acquire a sense of pride, accomplishment, and hope.

Last year I helped organize a fundraiser for Gawad Kalinga, which successfully raised $1,800, enough money to build one house. It doesn’t seem like much by itself, but the ripple effect of building one house extends far beyond its value.

One of the reasons this project works is because it outlines specific tangible goals, like raising $1,800 to build one house. The project is also highly considerate of the socio-economic needs of each specific area it works with. The goal is to optimize each community’s resources and target specific problems to create a system of self-sustainability that lasts beyond the end of the project.

GK is currently in the middle of a seven-year project to build 700,000 homes in 7,000 communities. Their success so far has been tremendous, not only through building houses, but by bringing great momentum to a global movement.

Visit Gawad Kalinga for more information on upcoming events, fundraisers, and ways to help.

Please join Global Potential, Globalhood’s largest project, for a few very happy hours of cocktails and dancing on Friday, June 20th at Taj Lounge. Funds go directly to supporting travel and living expenses for the 10 children and mentors traveling to the Dominican Republic in July. Guests can enjoy cocktails and dancing, auctions and prizes, not to mention some really great company! Suggested donation is your hourly pay–every little bit helps! Details:

What: A fundraiser for Global Potential, a project of Globalhood which aims to provide under-served, at-risk youth with the opportunity to better their lives through fostering their leadership and mentoring skills.

Where: TAJ Lounge, 48 West 21st Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)

When: Friday, June 20th, 6-11 p.m.  

Why: To raise funds for the project, which is preparing to send its first group of students to the Dominican Republic.

Cost: Your hourly wage.

Check out Global Potential for more details on the project.
 

The summit in Rome, which began today, is already making headway on the global food crisis as discussions commenced this morning. It has already been established that food production needs to double in the next 20 years in order to meet current and future demands. The reality means much more than lowering production and resource costs across the board, it could mean a shake-up and revitalization for the entire agricultural industry. Check out BBC’s latest article on the summit.