MikeLigalig.com

By Fatima Parel
Saturday, July 7, 2007

The majority of the Philippines’ homeless, underprivileged and deprived may not know of Dylan Wilk and what he stands for. But that will soon change as this British national is on a mission: To bring back hope to these very same people who have lost almost everything but their pride in being Filipinos.

A self-made millionaire who made his fortune through his computer games company in his twenties, becoming one of the richest men in Great Britain below the age of 30 – Dylan made a life-changing decision at the height of his success. The answer eventually led him to Gawad Kalinga (GK) in the Philippines, a non-profit organization that provides various programs –  on housing, education, health and livelihood – to those who are in need.

“I thought that there has to be a reason why I was rich. At a certain point, I realized I’ve done everything my own way and it hasn’t made me happy. In fact it leaves you greedier and more selfish, more empty. The more you have, the more you want. You’re never satisfied. Then when you’ve become focused entirely on yourself and your own pleasure you become the walking dead, nothing is ever good enough. I realized that I’ve done everything I could by myself and I wanted then to restore my relationship with God.

“I’ve neglected my family, my friends, God himself and I was sitting on top of the world almost alone. And I looked at the other rich people I knew and on the surface, things looked great. They have the best of everything, they went all over the world but when you get to know them, many of them have broken marriages, their children hated them because they were never there, they were alcoholics and so on. And then I realized, in 20 or 30 years time, I’m going to be like that – unless I find out what is it that God really intends for me to do with my life. So I came back to Him and He brought me here. It’s the last place that I would have expected to settle.”

Of course, many know Dylan by now as the young man who sold his BMW to build modest homes for 80 Filipino families. But like other philanthropists before him, Dylan thought that the only way to help others was through giving away money, lots and lots of it. But Gawad Kalinga founder and executive director Tony Meloto set him straight: he refused Dylan’s monetary donation and instead, encouraged the young Brit to visit the GK communities and see firsthand what the organization was all about.

“That was really a life-changing experience for me. It’s the first time anybody had ever refused my money!” laughs Dylan. “But here in GK, it’s really about relationships. That initial experience I had brought home to me that all the money in the world will not be enough to change the Philippines unless there’s a change of heart among those who have the money.”

It’s been four years since, yet Dylan is still as excited and passionate in helping build houses for the poor as the day he first learned about Gawad Kalinga. Nowadays, Dylan – as GK’s head coordinator for International Partnerships – spends most of his time traveling around the world promoting GK’s cause to communities of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“I spend a lot of time talking to Filipinos and trying to show this good news, trying to give them back hope, trying to give them back pride in being a Filipino. And help them see the good in themselves and (in) one another. Because these overseas workers left to be heroes for their family and now we’re showing them a way where they can really be heroes to their country. They’re no longer just balikbayan, but now, (they are) balikbayani. That’s the term I use for Filipinos who are part of GK abroad. And many of them are taking up the challenge and that’s what inspired me to keep going because we think that you have something very precious; something that brings hope.”

And whether he likes it or not, Dylan has become the new “face” of GK, a term which he laughingly contradicts. “Maybe the mouth! I’m just a big mouth. And quite seriously, I don’t feel that what I’m doing is really a sacrifice. It’s really the most exciting thing that you can do, to be part of such a huge movement to change a whole nation. And of course, I let go of a lot of things but it’s been replaced by much better things.”

The “better things” came in the form of his lovely Filipino wife, Anna, and their healthy daughter, Ariel.   

Though he admits that there are challenges in daily life, they are really nothing compared to the “huge sense of satisfaction, huge sense of joy that comes from seeing the fruits of the work. So if I ever do get tired or exhausted, my antidote is simply visit the GK community and just spend a little time there… It’s like looking at a little piece of heaven, like the Promised Land. The vision of what the Philippines can become when every slum finally becomes a beautiful piece of community. This is the most exciting time of my life and it’s the most significant thing I could imagine doing with my life. I cannot imagine anything more significant than this,” he smiles, the peace and satisfaction apparent in his face.



source: People Asia


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btaw jud! maau unta tanang rich people pareha nya ba?

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