A Gawad Kalinga (GK) Awareness Event at UCLA was held on March 7, 2009 at the Neuroscience Research auditorium. The event was spearheaded by Pilipinos for Community Health (PCH) at UCLA and supported by a consortium of UCLA Student Organizations. The goal of the event was to officially welcome GK to the UCLA campus for the first time. The keynote speakers were Tony Meloto (Founder of GK), Tony Olaes (GK champion), Dr. Eustaquio "Boy" Abay (Head of Gawad Kalusugan, USA), and Jonathan Wittig (GK Builder Corps). The hosts were Ram Pineda and Melanie Kappadakunnel. Josie Castro, CFO of the UCLA School of Public Health and Charmaine Jamias (PCH @ UCLA) delivered welcome remarks to over 200 guests. Special guests included Rick Munda (ANCOP USA), Jose "Boy" Ma. Montelibano (Inquirer columnist and GK advocate), Emmy award winner Jess Espanola, best selling author Alex Lacson, former Secretary of Agriculture Cito Lorenzo, Victor Ibabao (Gawad Kalasugan, California), Ernie Delfin (Rotaract/UCI), Founder of Heal the World John Roberts and many more. Seafood City is the official sponsor of the event.


"Science should complement the spirit: otherwise, nothing transformative can be achieved." - Tony Meloto

Tony Meloto (TM) spoke to a diverse audience from all over Southern California including student delegations from Samahang Pilipino (UCLA), Gawad Kalinga (Team San Diego), UCI/Rotaract, Cal State Fullerton Pilipino American Student Association (CSUF PASA Kaibigan), PUSO (UCR) and many others. The audience was also comprised of representatives from Filipno Cursillo movements, the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County's (FACC-OC), and Heal the World.

Related Links:
Asian Journal article:http://www.asianjournal.com/dateline-usa/15-dateline-usa/1390-gawad-kalinga-spreads-its-nation-building-message-at-ucla.html
UCLA Daily Bruin article:http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2009/mar/06/gawad-kalinga-rallies-global-aid/

Pictures courtesy of Joseph Jamias and Jose Ma. Montelibano