MARK LAWRENCE CRUZ
“Thursday nga pala ngayon” (it realized that it is Thursday now), said a student from Pasay who fainted during class. Thursdays are his turn not to eat in their household. The tragedy of this incident is echoed by a Grade 3 student from Parang, Maguindanao, who exclaimed to his teacher on the first day of feeding: “Ito pala ang pakiramdam ng mabusog!” (I see now how it feels to be full).
These painful stories are daily realities for around 4 million Filipino children. And it has been so for the past 30 years. In our country, where the majority are poor, hunger is a fact of life. Millions of Filipino families work to survive, which commonly translates to having enough money to provide for one meal a day—”isang kahig, isang tuka” (one peck, one bite). So many of our fellowmen endure so much to gain so little.
Gawad Kalinga (GK) and its mission partners have been confronting this ugly and wicked problem since 2014. In the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, a resident jokingly remarked that we should forgo building homes for them because they would have already died from hunger by the time we did. This situation catapulted GK into searching for a way to provide meals in a scaled-up and sustained manner.
The first kitchen operations were established in the Municipality of Kanangga and eventually transferred to Alangalang in Leyte province. These kitchens prepared and provided at least 2,000 meals daily from 2014 to 2016. What started as a typhoon relief and rehabilitation response for Leyte quickly became a major program and platform to achieve zero hunger across the country. Since then, a massive network of 800 community kitchens has been established through the years and most of them during the pandemic.
From 2020 to 2021 alone, this movement of hunger warriors provided 6,500,000 meals for 150,000 children in 1,000 communities through 500 kitchens! While 150,000 is a far cry from the 4,000,000 who suffer daily, it is a solid and steady start. One child fed is a battle won. And GK is determined to fight many battles to win the war against hunger.
As Program Head of Kusina Kalinga, GK Community Development Foundation, I have been asked several times how this feeding program can achieve zero hunger. My usual response to a sustainable solution to child hunger is adults who decide to care and share so that no kid would go hungry under their watch. Adults are allowed to conjure and pursue audacious dreams for the long-haul benefit of children—whether their own or those of others. The dream of zero hunger among Filipino children is one such dream. Children are children, and they deserve to be cared for. No child was born to suffer poverty and hunger.
These convictions have been driving my team and me to lead the charge against hunger. We draw much inspiration from the miracle of sharing that enabled 5,000 men and women to have their fill and leave enough leftovers to fill 12 baskets. When people share whatever little they have and take only what they need, no one would be left wanting—less for self, more for others, enough for all.
On a personal note, my wife and I have been blessed with two daughters. Whenever I join our kitchen operations, I always see glimpses of our daughters’ gleaming eyes, energetic smiles, and infectious positivity of the children we care for. They are so much alike, except my children do not go hungry. The main difference is that they were born to a low-income family, and my children were not. It is to no credit of my kids that they get to eat, and in the same manner, it is to no fault of other children that they go hungry.
Fate has dealt a very inequitable opening salvo, but the game need not end the same way it began. If I can provide for my children, I can surely provide for others. There is enough to share when we decide to care. I honestly do not know how I will provide all the food needs of my children weeks, months, and years down the road, but I do know I will find a way. Enlarging this determination to include as many children as we can help is a crucial step to building zero hunger zones where no child goes hungry. Often, well-meaning people are bogged down to inaction just thinking of the millions who need food, but I have come to learn and accept over the years of serving in Kusina ng Kalinga that the Lord’s call is to respond to those who He puts within our reach.
We are not called to give for all, but we are invited to share all we can. My deep conviction is that when the Lord blesses one family, it is a sure invitation to become a blessing for others. Daily provisions and graces that are freely received must be happily shared with others.
Our collective caring and sharing is the antidote to the pandemic of hunger.
Hunger ends where caring begins.