kabalaka
On the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, patroness of the Archdiocese we launched the Parish’s Kabalaka Project. What is this? You may have already noticed that we have stopped the usual dole-outs that we usually give during the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary – one thousand people getting the benefits of a ganta of rice, sardines, sugar and other food items. This year we decided not to. (To the elation of our Barangay Coordinators who always received the flak when things go wrong in the distribution – and they almost always do.) Added to the fact that this method has created more enemies than friends, we also came to realize that dole-outs do not really help people. The traditional “limos” does not address the problem of poverty in our parish. In fact it has created among us not only liars and pretenders (they pretend that they really have nothing when in fact they have) who want to take advantage of a free meal, but it also created dependency and took away individual initiative to break through the wall of poverty. Dole-outs, even if made in the name of charity, are not always charity. There is a need to shift gear, a need to change our paradigm, a need to rethink our methods while retaining the heart and soul of St. Elizabeth of Hungary for the poor and the needy.
Kabalaka stands for KAban agod BAngonon gikan sa LApnagon nga KAimolon. It is premised on the saying “give them fish and they will eat for a day, but teach them how to fish and they can eat everyday.” Providing work and livelihood to the poor is the call of the times. It is not enough, and we dare say, it can even be detrimental to the dignity of a human person when our activities in the name of charity, in the name of helping a needy person is expressed solely through dole-outs. Man must work – it is his dignity to work because God worked and Jesus was a son of a carpenter. Man therefore must be provided work. From now on this will be the main feature of our CARE our KABALAKA for persons in need. This is the better expression of charity! This is the better way to address poverty for it upholds the person’s human dignity and his right and responsibility to work. St. Paul was very clear when he warned the Thessalonians that those who do not work should not eat. Paul himself lived up to this injunction by earning the bread that he eats by making tents.
The Kabalaka Project as inspired by the charity of St. Elizabeth of Hungary was launched during her feast last November 17. It believes that the poor are poor not because of the lack of skills but because their skills are unutilized or under-utilized therefore making them handicapped in some ways their capacity to earn. It is hoped, with your cooperation, that this program would unleash the capacity and potentials, the energy and creativity of our poorer brothers and sisters so that they can extricate themselves from the situation of poverty. In other words, it intends to help people help themselves. In the days to come especially during the masses of Advent and the Aguinaldo we will explain this program point by point because all of us will have a part in helping people help themselves. Pope Benedict XVI has insisted in his first encyclical that charity to be truly effective must be organized charity – we come together, harnessing our strength as a community to help our neighbors who are in need. This is the challenge of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in our day and age.
Kabalaka stands for KAban agod BAngonon gikan sa LApnagon nga KAimolon. It is premised on the saying “give them fish and they will eat for a day, but teach them how to fish and they can eat everyday.” Providing work and livelihood to the poor is the call of the times. It is not enough, and we dare say, it can even be detrimental to the dignity of a human person when our activities in the name of charity, in the name of helping a needy person is expressed solely through dole-outs. Man must work – it is his dignity to work because God worked and Jesus was a son of a carpenter. Man therefore must be provided work. From now on this will be the main feature of our CARE our KABALAKA for persons in need. This is the better expression of charity! This is the better way to address poverty for it upholds the person’s human dignity and his right and responsibility to work. St. Paul was very clear when he warned the Thessalonians that those who do not work should not eat. Paul himself lived up to this injunction by earning the bread that he eats by making tents.
The Kabalaka Project as inspired by the charity of St. Elizabeth of Hungary was launched during her feast last November 17. It believes that the poor are poor not because of the lack of skills but because their skills are unutilized or under-utilized therefore making them handicapped in some ways their capacity to earn. It is hoped, with your cooperation, that this program would unleash the capacity and potentials, the energy and creativity of our poorer brothers and sisters so that they can extricate themselves from the situation of poverty. In other words, it intends to help people help themselves. In the days to come especially during the masses of Advent and the Aguinaldo we will explain this program point by point because all of us will have a part in helping people help themselves. Pope Benedict XVI has insisted in his first encyclical that charity to be truly effective must be organized charity – we come together, harnessing our strength as a community to help our neighbors who are in need. This is the challenge of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in our day and age.
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