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  What is your Christmas wish? "Since I'm getting married next year, my Christmas wish would be for me to be financially able to bring every single one of my loved ones to the wedding." - Quincy, Senior Graphic Designer "My Christmas wish is for Human Nature to become the biggest multinational social enterprise - really!"- Tish, Corporate Communications & PR Manager "My Christmas wish is for my family to be happy and healthy (and for a salary increase!)."- Lhiz, Customer Care Officer |
| Colors of Christmas: Human Nature's Christmas Party 2014! Thank you to all those who attended our annual Christmas party last November 29, 2014! It was a night full of joyous celebration, laughter, happy tears, and heartfelt performances showcasing the best of our employees and the heart of our company. |
| Send Your Love to Ormoc With a Christmas Housewarming Gift Pack!
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| Each gift pack includes:
P500.00 Want to make Human Nature history? The house and gift pack turnover will be held on Thursday, December 18 in Ormoc. Everyone is invited to join and the company will subsidize P1000 of your fare. For those interested, please email amalia@humanheartnature.com. |
This December, the 100 families of the Human Nature GK Village you helped build through our Goodness Rising campaign will move into their new homes. Welcome them with a warm gift of household essentials! Human Nature pledges to match your generosity by shouldering half the cost of your gift and delivering it on your behalf to Ormoc. | Navigating Genius: Thomas Graham's Journeys with Gawad Kalinga "Come alongside the poor, befriend them, partner with them, and you will discover their potential. But don't take my word for it - experience it for yourself."- Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga Founder  When young British journalist Thomas Graham paid Gawad Kalinga (GK) Founder Tony Meloto a visit with a clipboard of inquiries concerning poverty and economic growth in tow, he never imagined that an entirely new world would open up to him - a world that called him to "ditch the shirt and tie" and the realm of theory to discover through lived experience what Meloto fondly alluded to as the genius of the poor. But there was one question that continued to linger in Graham's mind: "If there is indeed genius in the poor, then why are they poor in the first place?" As Graham struggles to grasp this elusive genius, he seeks to transcend the utter disconnection between the middle class and the poor by connecting to the realm of the grassroots. Built Upon Bayanihan  From the once-desolate streets of Bagong Silang to the innovative breeding grounds of the Enchanted Farm, Graham collects a range of poignant and sometimes humorous encounters with GK community members, volunteers, servant-leaders, and nation-builders. As he navigates the backstories of former gang members, criminals, inmates, and flood victims, Graham gradually uncovers the cornerstone of social transformation: a spirit of service and bayanihan that leaves no one behind. "No one is too poor that they cannot share," shares Adeluna of GK Missionville. As Graham's travels confirm, community after community is transformed through the collaborative efforts of residents and volunteers unified in one vision to bring poorest of the poor out of poverty. "The big idea is not doing good, it's doing good together," says Luis Oquinena, GK Executive Director. Hope is instilled by those who believe in the potential of the poor - who are thrown into the direst and most challenging social and economic conditions - to take up their crosses and change their lives. "The key to this transformation was the presence and partnership of others, who came alongside the lost and marginalized and gave them the confidence and belief to rebuild their lives," writes Graham. Partnering with the Poor  Building houses marks only the beginning, as GK's mission to end poverty for 5 million families in the Philippines by 2024 illustrates. One must allow the initial spark of volunteerism to grow and anoint all of their actions. "[Building] a more cohesive nation requires a far more enduring commitment than a one-off venture into the life of the marginalised," writes Graham. As Suwani, head of ground operations in GK Indonesia, articulates, "[Gawad Kalinga] is not charity - it's about partnering with the poor, about truly loving and caring for them." This partnership with the poor, as Graham learns, is about tapping into their creative, collaborative potential to identify their community's most urgent needs and developing and honing their skills to build a community that is uplifted and empowered. As a young man named Emong, who Graham meets in Bagong Silang, shares: "Even if you're a drug addict or criminal like I was, you can change in a minute if you realise that you can help others. We need to give people a chance to help others and do good. As soon as you realise that others care about you, you gradually begin to care about them, too. This is the basis for change Channelling the Genius of the Poor "The poor are rarely given the opportunity to realise their full potential in this individual sense," writes Graham. "Nonetheless, there is a certain 'genius', I believe, in the underlying connectedness within the communities I have visited." Social enterprises and entrepreneurs rely on and channel this genius of the poor in developing sustainable livelihoods and creating original products and marketing strategies to create a positive impact on poor communities. Graham explores the efforts of these various enterprises and businesses - from Golden Duck and Gourmet Keso to Bayani Brew and Human Nature - to move beyond the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) notion of the poor as mere beneficiaries, and actually partner with the poor in business.  As Graham learns, there is much to be discovered in partnering with the poor and delving into their way of life - above all, a certain authenticity in living and realizing goals that they can identify with and call their own, and with which they can together raise a community of immense hope and resilience from the brokenness of social inequality. Graham writes: "Genius, I have discovered, lies not just in individual brilliance in some area of human activity, but in a supremely positive, humane attitude to life, to its ups and downs, to its unfairness and its opportunities, and above all to other people - family, neighbour or stranger. In this respect I gave glimpsed genius in the impoverished [communities] [...] And in the process I have been taught, not how to pass an exam or appear intelligent, but simply how to live a more authentic human life." Grab your copy of "The Genius of the Poor" online or at our Flagship Store! |
  Would you like to share your good news and inspirational stories with the rest of our Human Nature family? Send your goodness stories to nicole.sa@humanheartnature.com! Three stories will be featured each month, so come and share the goodness! |