El Nido is a municipality on Palawan island in the Philippines known for its whitesand beaches, coral reefs, clear waters, dive sites and limestone cliffs and is currently ranked number 4 in Condé Nast Traveler's list of ‘20 Most Beautiful Beaches in the World.’

Behind the beautiful scenery are its underprivileged people or those whose lives are in danger due to natural disasters. The Philippines is geographically located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It is also the regular path of at least 20 typhoons a year from the Pacific Ocean or West Philippine Sea. Berjaya Philippines and Gawad Kalinga (GK) joined hands to build 20 houses to relocate some families living either at the foot of a hill or at sea side without a decent house to protect them from nature’s wrath.

Berjaya Philippines Executive Director Tan Eng Hwa and his team were visibly happy with the warm reception accorded to them when they visited the beneficiaries of the Berjaya GK Sunset Village located in Sitio Caalan in El Nido town on 14 October 2019.

According to one of the beneficiaries of the Berjaya houses, Ryan De Villa, his wife and 5 children were renting a house along the skirts of the national highway; and because their place is dangerous to traversing vehicles and there is a government project to widen the road they had no choice but to find another place. It was a blessing in disguise that he heard about the Berjaya GK houses being built and he sought help through the Municipal Social and Welfare office for him to be considered for the free housing. Part of becoming a beneficiary is to fulfill the required number of hours of “sweat equity” wherein the able members of the family must work in building the house.

Tan Eng Hwa (middle in white shirt) with the beneficiaries of BERJAYA GK Sunset Village.

Berjaya Philippines Executive Director, Tan Eng Hwa (left) hears the story of Ryan De Villa, one of the beneficiaries of the Berjaya houses.