By Marilyn Importante, GK Beneficiary and GK Worker
Gawad Kalinga (GK) strives to end poverty and believes that sports is one of the forefronts of social change in its 3,000 communities across the Philippines. GK SipaG is a special program under the Child & Youth Development platform of GK that seeks to develop the youth through sports, particularly football/soccer and Futsal.
Since 2005, we have developed social football programs in GK communities such as in Mandaluyong, Quezon City, Pasig City, Taguig City, Muntinlupa, Palo Leyte, Sagay Negros Occidental, Makilala in North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Marawi . The program seeks to use football and Futsal to add structure, values, and discipline to the lives of underprivileged youth as early as 6 years old until they reach 21 years old. GK SipaG aims to develop youth leaders through sports and mentor 5,000 children, develop 300 youth leaders in 30 areas nationwide.
One of our concrete programs in need of funding is the annual Liga GK. Liga GK has been running since 2008 and last year it happened on September 29, 2018 to December 9, 2018, every Sunday with 12 participating teams. The format of the competition was a centralized 8-game round-robin between teams followed by a playoff elimination round to determine both Cup and Plate Champions. As we seek to promote youth leadership, the program was solely headed by the young coaches and volunteers from nearby communities between various participating communities in Metro Manila.
Last year Nico John Lufamia and Aldrin Lufamia, SipaG volunteers from Tatalon, Quezon City organized the event. Aldrin shared, “At the age of 7, I started playing street football and I enjoyed it very much. The sports I love gave me a lot of opportunity in my life, now I’m a Futsal varsity player in PWU and I even traveled to different countries. It’s my way of giving back, by teaching futsal in SipaG.”
For this year, we are planning to run the Liga GK from July to September 2019 and will be spearheaded by Coach Roy Lagrimas from GK Buayang Bato. A major chunk of our expenses is the logistical cost, which mostly covers transportation for participating kids. Last year, Jollibee provided the meals for 300 kids during Semi Finals and Finals. Join our league of heroes as we build a brighter future for our young athletes. We are now open for partnership and sponsorship.
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