Page 3719 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 21 November 2006
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This award will be presented at the Education Union’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education seminar which will take place in Canberra on 15 January next year. This is one area where the ACT government could take some credit. I know the kind of work and thought that have gone into supporting Narrabundah primary school. I am wondering and the community in Narrabundah are wondering whether the government did not know about this award or whether they are a little concerned and there is some reason why they might not be putting it out to the rooftops.
Here is a success story in ACT public education, here is something that has been recognised nationally and here is an excellent model in indigenous education which the community’s submission can only enhance. I recommend to every member that they go away and have a look at thesavenarrabundah.com website and have read that submission.
Gawad Kalinga
Miles Franklin primary school fete
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (4.51): On Sunday, 12 November, I had the privilege, with 150-odd Canberrans, of contributing to a fundraising night for a Philippines collective called Gawad Kalinga. Gawad Kalinga is a housing collective whose aim is to build 700,000 houses in 7,000 villages over seven years. Gawad Kalinga is a program that came out of the Philippines and is a concept that has spread over many countries in South-East Asia, including East Timor. In barely five years since it started, it has developed into a multisectoral partnership, with the aim of a new vision of no more slums for the Philippines and other countries in South-East Asia.
Together with its partners, Gawad Kalinga is now in the process of transforming poverty stricken areas, many of them now empowered to further improve the quality of life. It goes to the heart of many of the statements that people make about poverty that one of the most important aspects of addressing poverty is to provide people in poverty with secure housing.
The people who attended the quiz night fundraising were given a presentation on the work of Gawad Kalinga by Ronnie Bautista, who is the country’s representative for the project in Australia. It is unbelievably inspiring to see land which was once slums with ramshackle, put-together bits of corrugated iron, plastic and cardboard now with beautifully painted homes, paved streets and sewerage. One can only imagine—and I have no real experience—what a change that must make to the lives of the people who live in those areas.
The quiz night at the Canberra Southern Cross Club, which raised a substantial amount of money, was organised by a group of people who have become advocates of the cause of Gawad Kalinga. They include George Lemon, who seems to have brought the message of Gawad Kalinga to Canberra. He was assisted by Maureen and Steve Doszpot. Steve Doszpot was the MC and quizmaster for the evening. Maureen, Gary Kent and Samuel Gordon-Stewart were the quiz setters and judges. Steve was ably supported by Canberra’s most divine barrel girl, Ms Coralie Wood.
The night was roundly supported by a who’s who of people and institutions in Canberra—the Canberra Raiders, the ACT Brumbies, Football Canberra,
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