Gawad
Kalinga

October 15, 2013.
Everything gone.

At 8:12 in the morning on October 15, 2013, a magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck Bohol, Philippines. It was the deadliest natural disaster in the country in 26 years. The energy released was equivalent to roughly 32 Hiroshima bombs. In the province of Bohol, entire communities were flattened — homes reduced to rubble, churches that had stood for four centuries collapsing in seconds. Families who had nothing to begin with lost the little they had.

Maribojoc, on Bohol's western coast, was among the hardest-hit municipalities. The ground buckled. Roads split. The houses — many of them simple concrete and wood structures — simply did not stand. The people who lived in them were left with nothing but each other.

Give Care

Gawad Kalinga — the name means "Give Care" in Filipino — is one of the Philippines' most respected community-rebuilding movements. It was founded on a conviction: that poverty is not eliminated by handouts but by the restoration of human dignity, community bonds, and practical capacity. Faith, values, and work. People rebuilding for people, alongside people.

That philosophy shapes everything GK does. When GK comes to a community, they don't build houses for people — they build houses with people. The family whose home is being rebuilt works on its construction. The community shows up. The volunteers are neighbours. The result is not just a building — it is a demonstration that the community can rebuild itself, and that it did. That memory is as important as the roof.

One family. One home. Real.

In partnership with Gawad Kalinga, we helped fund and construct a new home for a family in Maribojoc — one of the families the earthquake had displaced. We worked alongside them. The family worked alongside us. GK coordinated. The home was built. One family has a roof again. Learn more at gk1world.com.