On October 10, 2011, Rod and Arlene Castillo made a physical site inspection of the Sandersfeld-St.Victor-Evergreen GK Village in Majada, Calamba Laguna. This is their report as filed by Rod:
Site History
In 2007, several hundred typhoon victims were relocated by the government of Calamba, Laguna from their dwellings near the Laguna Bay. With the help of the Red Cross, they were put up in temporary tent shelters in this tract of land. As with any tent city, the environment is unsustainable - sanitation, community, livelihood are all missing and the site eventually turns into something akin to a refugee camp. Eventually, the government approached GK to see if they could help with the housing situation. GK presented their model for community building and transformation and so the Dr. Jose Rizal Village was born in Majada. The government would take care of the roads and water wells and GK would take care of building the communities. GK started offering the program to the refugees and as expected, not all were willing to participate. But there were willing souls. Families lined up to start their GK training and as of this date, over 213 families have been settled and are now living the GK community lifestyle. Over 200 more are waiting while others are continuing to put in their sweat equity towards the program.
Configuration
The village is a long tract of land that can hold over 500 GK-style row houses. These houses are divided into groups of 22-24, with each structure holding 11 to 12 individual homes. Those groups of 22-24 houses is a “Community” with a coordinator. Each sponsored community has 2 physical buildings - basically the row of houses. Each row of houses is built adjacent to each other facing away from the other half. In between the rows runs a flowing stream for waste water and storm drainage. Sewage goes into a septic tank. As sponsorships come in, communities get built. The first community that was built was sponsored by Cherifer - a pharmaceutical company in the Philippines. 
Soon after, other communities were sponsored and built - there is the Pauline community sponsored by an individual, St. John the Baptist, sponsored by a group in Milpitas, CA, and others. Meralco sponsored the school building for the whole village plus 1 year of the SIBOL school program. Other groups such as the Korean Youth Volunteer program stepped in to build other structures like the a basketball court, a multi-purpose hall and a pumping station. The school and hall are shared by the whole Jose Rizal village. The newest community on the wings waiting to be built with 22 homes is our community. For simplification, people refer to the “village” and communities interchangeably.
Project Schedule
After funds from TEW were sent to GKUSA and secured by GKCDFI in the middle of 2011, a project schedule was created for the Sandresfeld village based on available groups doing builds and the local government’s schedule and priorities. The village would be graded and started on by late September and following a normal schedule, would be finished in time for turnover to beneficiaries by January.
Delayed by twin factors - government and weather
Although the government is committed to providing the roads that go towards and into the whole Jose Rizal site, it doesn’t mean those things get done on schedule. The local government has other priorities and coupled with the onslaught of typhoons, has had to delay laying down the groundwork for the Sandersfeld village. A preliminary grading of the land was done but more tagging and surveying needs to be done after the grading and compacting. As a matter of fact, a group build with Trend Micro employees was scheduled from 10/10-14 on the site, assuming the grading had been finalized. That group build had to be moved to a different site because the Sandersfeld site was not ready.
Typhoon Pedring's effects
The land that the whole Jose Rizal Village sits on is owned by the local government. Originally, several hectares had been alloted for the GK Village Bayan-Anihan program (sustainable farming to augment nutrition needs of the community to enable them to channel their meager financial resources towards other things like education, transportation to/from school, books, etc). Unfortunately, the twin typhoons that struck at the end of September caused a NEW tent city to get erected at the site where the Bayan-Anihan was supposed to get established. Now the GK Villagers have to find other means of livelihood to augment their financial resources (see above).
Kapitbahayan and Mabuhay Ladies
The village association is referred to as Kapitbahayan. They are responsible for promoting the GK values of caring and sharing through example, training and education. Already in this village, the Mabuhay Ladies are doing a good job - you can see it in the way people look out for each other. As an example, we noticed a number of fruit trees sitting beside two communities. We asked how the fruits were distributed and the response was that it wasn't. Anyone in the village was free to pick from the trees as they needed. Yet nobody hoards. Big fruits, such as the jackfruit (langka) are not harvested unless the community decides to do so. When it is, the Mabuhay ladies distribute it to all residents.
Livelihood
Through some contact, they were able to bring in a source of income - trimming rubber molds from a rubber manufacturing company nearby. A sheet comes in with several items laid out flat on a rubber mold. It still requires human hands to cut around the edges to produce the final product - this is what our Mabuhay Ladies do. The company pays them anywhere from PHP35 to PHP75 for every thousand units they produce. From a western point of view, this is not economically sustainable. But viewed from the angle of local economics, it is a real economic driver. The livelihood program is not meant to be an end all - it is usually run by the women who participate in it. It’s goal is not to be the primary source of income for GK families - but rather as an augmentation to their resources. Part of the challenge of GK Village partnerships is finding suitable livelihood that the environment can sustain.
Education
The GK SIBOL program is meant to give pre-school education to the village residents. Typically, families that dwell in poverty do not have expectations for an education. Children grow up wandering the streets and learning to tackle life on their own while their parents are too busy trying to make some sort of living to buy their family's next meal. With the pre-school program, children and families are introduced to a lifestyle of education, giving them the necessary tools to prepare them for school. Once they are of age, they are able to easily transition into the Public School system.
The SIBOL program is funded by Meralco (the Philippine electric company) for a year after a village is built. After that, GK looks for partners to keep the program sustained. This is a critical piece of the community development and transformation. Teachers are typically volunteer public school teachers who love their job and are passionate about what they do. As with teachers in the US, they view it as a calling. It is our desire to be able to give them a sustainable salary. I observed the class for a few minutes and I was impressed by the discipline, learning and fun that the students were having.
Future Opportunities
GK is now on Microsoft’s radar. GK received a grant for software development from the Washington based company. GK is also a finalist for the Skoll Foundation's Social Entrepreneuship award, which could bring in more exposure to the GK cause.
Latest Updates (as of 10/30/2011)
By the time Rod and Arlene left the Philippines, a team from Trend Micro had begun the build on the Sandersfeld-Evergreen village. 7 houses are now under construction. From November 14 - 18, another group from Trend Micro will be performing a build on the village. Two members of TEW, Norm Butka and Diane Malone, will be participating.
Site History
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| Entrance to the GK Jose Rizal Village |
Configuration
Soon after, other communities were sponsored and built - there is the Pauline community sponsored by an individual, St. John the Baptist, sponsored by a group in Milpitas, CA, and others. Meralco sponsored the school building for the whole village plus 1 year of the SIBOL school program. Other groups such as the Korean Youth Volunteer program stepped in to build other structures like the a basketball court, a multi-purpose hall and a pumping station. The school and hall are shared by the whole Jose Rizal village. The newest community on the wings waiting to be built with 22 homes is our community. For simplification, people refer to the “village” and communities interchangeably.Project Schedule
 |
| In front of the actual site |
Delayed by twin factors - government and weather
Although the government is committed to providing the roads that go towards and into the whole Jose Rizal site, it doesn’t mean those things get done on schedule. The local government has other priorities and coupled with the onslaught of typhoons, has had to delay laying down the groundwork for the Sandersfeld village. A preliminary grading of the land was done but more tagging and surveying needs to be done after the grading and compacting. As a matter of fact, a group build with Trend Micro employees was scheduled from 10/10-14 on the site, assuming the grading had been finalized. That group build had to be moved to a different site because the Sandersfeld site was not ready.
Typhoon Pedring's effects
 |
| Typhoon victims in tent city |
Kapitbahayan and Mabuhay Ladies
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| Mabuhay Ladies in uniform |
Livelihood
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| Molds that have to be hand-cut |
Education
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| The school is downright impressive |
The SIBOL program is funded by Meralco (the Philippine electric company) for a year after a village is built. After that, GK looks for partners to keep the program sustained. This is a critical piece of the community development and transformation. Teachers are typically volunteer public school teachers who love their job and are passionate about what they do. As with teachers in the US, they view it as a calling. It is our desire to be able to give them a sustainable salary. I observed the class for a few minutes and I was impressed by the discipline, learning and fun that the students were having.
Future Opportunities
GK is now on Microsoft’s radar. GK received a grant for software development from the Washington based company. GK is also a finalist for the Skoll Foundation's Social Entrepreneuship award, which could bring in more exposure to the GK cause.
Latest Updates (as of 10/30/2011)
