I can still remember my first time walking out of the doors of the Ninoy Aquino airport into the blistering heat of the Philippines . It was 1998, my first time back after leaving in 1987, a year after I was born. I had no idea what to expect, up until then I pictured it to be something you see in one of those Hawaii postcards, after all, they did look similar to us. Nope, not even close. It only took me a short amount of time as we were driving through metro Manila to realize that this was nothing compared to the middle class suburbs of Long Island . This was poverty; straight up poverty. After coming to grips with what I had seen, I figured we would only be passing through some of these places. It turned out that most of my family lived in places like these and we stayed at most of these places during my trip.

It was definitely a wake up call. I would always get scolded by my parents for one reason or another and be lectured about why I should be grateful for what I have or be told some story about what my parents had gone through. I never took it seriously. I always pictured the Philippines they referred to as some magical land far away that I would never have to deal with ever again. But after going there for the first time, I looked at my parents in a different light. I finally understood what it meant to do hard chores and labor. I finally understood what it meant to be grateful for food and to never waste a grain of rice. I even understood what it meant to manually flush. But most important, I understood my roots, what my family had come from; that there was more to my being in America than my own self benefit. People were relying on me to give back.

After watching the movie Paraiso (“ Paradise ”) this past weekend all of these things shot back into my mind.  The movie is basically a collection of 3 inspiring, true stories based on people touched by the Gawad Kalinga movement. Gawad Kalinga (GK), officially known as the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation is a Philippine-based organization geared towards anti-poverty and taking care of Filipino survivors of natural disasters. Their motto is "No more slums, no more violence, no more poverty" and the movie definitely expressed their intentions.

The first story was about the struggle of Jocelyn Llorente. Her and her husband were victims of the mudslides of St. Bernard, S. Leyte. Unfortunately, one of her children was killed in the tragedy. Through this story we are also shown real life footage from the actual disaster, which is quite disturbing. Jocelyn recovers with time and through the help of GK her town is rebuilt.

The second story is a little more upbeat and is a comedy. It is about a boy named Elvis who is adopted by a family involved with GK. The story captures the family’s willingness to treat Elvis as one of their own and their contribution to the rebuilding of homes.

The last story is based on the events of 9/11. Ruby Abad, overcome with the heart-wrenching loss of his wife in the WTC is inspired to do something in her memory. He works together with Gawad Kalinga to rebuild a once drug-infested neighborhood using the compensation he received for the death of his wife.

The movie does a good job of emphasizing the idea of giving back. It shows the real life struggles of people whose lives are severely damaged by natural disasters and poverty, yet are rejuvenated through the efforts of non-profit organizations like GK. Through small contributions of donations and volunteer work, thousands of people are affected in a positive way. It makes you think about landing that dream job after college that pays thousands of dollars a year. Maybe there’s more to it than getting that apartment or car you’ve always wanted. Maybe there’s more to it than self benefit.

To find out more information about the movie, visit http://ancopusa.org/wowgk/paraiso_themovie.htm