Renjie Butalid

I received some good news last week which Im really excited about and felt the need to share.

After applying for my Canadian citizenship at the beginning of this year, my application finally came through and I received a notice to write the Canadian citizenship test for December 3, 2008 – the final step before taking my oath to becoming a Canadian citizen.

This citizenship test is designed to test my knowledge on Canada (its history as well as its political, social, cultural and economic structure) and to that effect, I have been brushing up on ‘Canadian’ facts with the help of the guide provided by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

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However, reflecting on what becoming a Canadian citizen will mean for me has also made me think about what it will mean to be a Filipino-Canadian, as I will now have dual citizenship with both Canada and the Philippines.

And just to make things even more complicated, there is also the fact that I grew up and lived in the UAE for a number of years prior to coming to Canada in 2002, and that experience has also shaped a lot of my thinking and perspective, and is another integral part of my identity.

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So why am I writing about this topic on a blog focused on social entrepreneurship and social innovation?

A part of me feels that once I become a Canadian citizen, I will lose the Filipino (and perhaps the UAE) part of my identity. However, I know that this will never be the case. Part of what makes Canada as a nation so great is its embrace of cultural diversity, that you can be a Canadian citizen but are still able to celebrate your cultural heritage.

That being said, the Philippines will always be a special place for me, and what I wanted to do with this blog post is to highlight an organization that I had the privilege of being a part of a number of years ago during my last visit to the country in 2004.

(At a GK village north of Manila, July 2004)

Gawad Kalinga

Gawad Kalinga is an organization based in the Philippines that has created a movement in the country to eradicate poverty and transform slums into beautiful, sustainable and healthy communities.

Translated from Tagalog, ‘Gawad Kalinga’ means ‘To give care’ and they employ a holistic approach to community-building, and therefore, nation-building – not only building houses for the poor (which a lot of international development organization seem to only focus on) using local materials and resources, but making sure to include the poor as part of the community-building process, providing access to quality health care and education for their families and their children, as well as providing micro-finance loans to build the capacity for local entrepreneurs to develop sustainable enterprises.

I truly believe that Gawad Kalinga will change the face of the nation in the years to come.

Watch the video below to see how you can be a part of the GK movement…

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