By GK YGAT PNG 08 delegates Date Posted: November 17, 2008
What if one day you wake up and you've got something to say to the world?
Inspired by WYD, 7 young adults from Sydney travelled to Papua New Guinea to participate in the 3rd Gawad Kalinga Youth Great Adventure Tour (GKYGAT) to Papua New Guinea from 15 – 28 September, 2008. GKYGAT is a yearly volunteer mission program run by GK Youth Australia. Gawad Kalinga or Givim Kea in Pidgin means 'to give care'.
This program started in Sydney in 2004 for young people to get out of their comfort zone, travel to a developing country like the Philippines and be bearers of hope by living and working with a poor community for two weeks. Since then, it has expanded to Papua New Guinea and Cambodia.
Led by Joekarl Diaz, the GKYGAT group mostly stayed in GK Gerehu Stage 6 village in Port Moresby where they assisted in building a medical centre, provided morning lessons, songs and games for the kids and most importantly get to know their host families, their hopes and dreams as well as shared life stories and WYD experiences.
The participants got a taste of the PNG tribal culture during the PNG Independence day where different tribal groups dressed in their traditional clothes and performed dances as well as spending a night in the bush with the villagers to immerse in the lifestyle. The group then travelled to Popondetta to attend a conference and visit another potential GK village site. It was truly a life-changing and memorable experience!
For Brian, “it was a privilege.... to have witnessed the dedication and compassion people have for their fellow man. I thought I was in for an adventure, what I experienced was a life changing blessing.”
For Libby, "Being part of [GKY GAT] taught me self discipline, love and strength to take on things in life. I am very proud to be part of GKY GAT and to have traveled on my very first rewarding trip to PNG."
For Lalaih, "A journey that will change my life forever...my heart was filled with love from the people we met. They encouraged me to face my life without any expectations and just be happy along the way, to be patient because life is so wonderful to fill it with worries about time, and most of all, they gave me love that I will cherish forever."
For Annabelle, "There were some challenges like missing the comforts of home but overall the experience was a lot of fun. I grew from this experience in living with the poor. It is an experience that will stay with me forever!"
For Corina, “Having seen the great transformation of slum communities in the Philippines, I was keen to see how GK was progressing in Papua New Guinea. What I found was great HOPE, potential with constant care and perseverance - exciting times are coming for this community!”
For Joekarl, "In spite of the real difficulties and negative publicity about PNG, I am very glad that people stepped outside their comfort zones to pay visit to the less fortunate people in PNG. Somehow our work is making a lot of difference."
We encourage anyone who is inspired to step out and experience it yourself.
*** Please visit our GK VIDEOS page to watch the GK YGAT PNG 2008 video***
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Led by Joekarl Diaz, the GKYGAT group mostly stayed in GK Gerehu Stage 6 village in Port Moresby where they assisted in building a medical centre, provided morning lessons, songs and games for the kids and most importantly get to know their host families, their hopes and dreams as well as shared life stories and WYD experiences.
