Pilosopong Tasyo
03-09-2005, 12:17 AM
An Interview of Dylan Wilks by Bo Sanchez
Dylan Wilk was born to a poor family. But at the young
age of 20, he started a computer games company that
made him a millionaire. Soon, Dylan operated in nine
countries and ran his own TV channel. Then at the age
of 25, Dylan sold his company for multi-million
British pounds. He became the ninth richest person in
the Great Britain under the age of 30.
But one night, while lying in bed, he was distressed
by a nagging question that wouldn't let him sleep.
"God, why am I rich?"
He asked if there was a reason for his immense wealth.
Ironically, he also felt terribly empty inside. This,
despite his ability to have any kind of pleasure he
wanted. He had just bought himself a brand-new Ferrari
and took one holiday after another. But he was
discovering that pleasure was like fire... it
constantly needed more fuel to keep it going. And he
realized he would never be happy in the path he was
taking.
One day, a Filipina friend visited him. She said she
felt guilty going there because her plane fare could
have built two homes for the poor. That made Dylan
pause. How can you build two houses for that measly
amount? He decided to investigate.
In January 2003, he visited the Philippines. And for
three hours,Gawad Kalinga (GK) Director Tony Meloto
brought Dylan to different GK villages for the poor.
With his own eyes, he saw something that would change
his life forever...
Bo: What did you see on that day?
Dylan: I saw hope. More than newly built houses, I saw
transformed lives. We were entering rather dangerous
slums, breeding ground for thieves and kidnappers...
yet in the middle of that was an oasis... the Gawad
Kalinga village. I saw people smiling, men working,
children laughing... I've seen many other projects in
South East Asia and across the world. And I've never
seen anything like GK. This was different. This really
worked!
Bo: So what did you do after your trip?
Dylan: I went back to England. I saw my BMW parked in
the garage and realized I could build 80 homes with
it... and affect the lives of 600 people. I saw the
faces of the children I could help. I called up Tony
Meloto and told him I was thinking of donating
$100,000 to Gawad Kalinga and asked him if that was
okay...
Bo: What did Tony say?
Dylan: He said, "No, I don't want your money."
Bo: Only Tony can say something like that. (Laughs.)
Dylan: He said if I was really serious in working for
the poor, I should go back to the Philippines. So two
months later, I sold my BMW and flew back to Manila.
And in June of that year, I made a decision to stay in
the Philippines and work for GK for seven more years.
Bo: Wow.
Dylan: I've decided to invest in the poor of the
Philippines. Not in stocks or bonds. If I can help in
uplifting the poor of this country, I can say that I
spent my life well.
Bo: I presume your family wasn't too crazy about that
decision.
Dylan: No! They thought I was brainwashed by a
religious cult! (Laughs.) So my mother came and spied
on me. But she was soon convinced of the beautiful
work we were doing and went back home and told my
sister about it. And my sister said, "Oh no, they
brainwashed you too!" (Laughs.) But today, all of them
support what I do.
Bo: You've made a decision to give up your wealth for
the Filipino poor.
Dylan: I don't see it as a sacrifice. When you give
charity out of pity, you feel pain parting with your
money. But when you give charity because you love, you
don't feel that pain. You only feel the joy of giving
to someone you love. That's what I feel.
Bo: I hear you built an entire village for GK in
Bulacan.
Dylan: I don't see it as my village. I just provided
the materials. Architects, engineers, volunteers gave
their labor. Together, we built 63 houses for the
poor.
Bo: Amazing. What else do you do?
Dylan: I go around the world telling everyone that
Filipinos are heroic. Because I work with them every
day... the volunteers of GK.
Bo: What do you see in the Filipino that we take for
granted?
Dylan: You're hardworking. You're always laughing,
always eating, always singing. Even in your problems.
You're loyal. And honest. Sure, there are exceptions,
but generally, that's been my experience. And you have
the bayanihan spirit. The pyramids of Egypt are
beautiful but they were built by slavery. GK villages
are more beautiful because they're made through the
bayanihan spirit of the Filipino. It's especially this
bayanihan and love of family and community that makes
the Filipino more valuable than gold. If you take a
golden nugget and kick it on the floor for 400 years,
afterwards you won't be able to see much gold, just
mud. This was what happened to the Filipino... for 400
years you were slaves and then you suffered under
dictatorship and corruption. This is where the crab
mentality came from; I don't think it's a natural
Filipino quality because every day I see the gold
under the surface of ordinary Filipinos. If we wipe
away the mud by bringing hope and being brothers to
one another in bayanihan, the gold will shine through
and the world will see it.
Bo: Let me get personal here. I hear that you don't
only love the Filipinos, but you've fallen for a
particular Filipina.
Dylan: (Smiles.) Two months ago, I married Anna
Meloto, the eldest daughter of Tony Meloto. She grew
up with the GK work, so we're totally one in our
mission. And yes, I'll be having Filipino children.
The best way I can secure a future for my kids is to
continue to help raise this country from poverty.
Instead of building high walls in an exclusive
subdivision to protect us from thieves and kidnappers,
I will go to the breeding ground of thieves and
kidnappers and help transform their lives.
Bo: Thank you for this interview. You don't know how
much you inspired me.
Dylan: Thank you for being our partner in GK. I read
KERYGMA every month and I'm happy to see GK stories in
every issue.
Bo: It's our immense privilege to tell the world about
it and ask others to join the miracle.
Dylan: To me, GK isn't just Gawad Kalinga. It is a
part of "God's Kingdom" in this world. Thank you.
Let us be ordinary Filipinos...Mabuhay ka Dylan!!!
Dylan Wilk was born to a poor family. But at the young
age of 20, he started a computer games company that
made him a millionaire. Soon, Dylan operated in nine
countries and ran his own TV channel. Then at the age
of 25, Dylan sold his company for multi-million
British pounds. He became the ninth richest person in
the Great Britain under the age of 30.
But one night, while lying in bed, he was distressed
by a nagging question that wouldn't let him sleep.
"God, why am I rich?"
He asked if there was a reason for his immense wealth.
Ironically, he also felt terribly empty inside. This,
despite his ability to have any kind of pleasure he
wanted. He had just bought himself a brand-new Ferrari
and took one holiday after another. But he was
discovering that pleasure was like fire... it
constantly needed more fuel to keep it going. And he
realized he would never be happy in the path he was
taking.
One day, a Filipina friend visited him. She said she
felt guilty going there because her plane fare could
have built two homes for the poor. That made Dylan
pause. How can you build two houses for that measly
amount? He decided to investigate.
In January 2003, he visited the Philippines. And for
three hours,Gawad Kalinga (GK) Director Tony Meloto
brought Dylan to different GK villages for the poor.
With his own eyes, he saw something that would change
his life forever...
Bo: What did you see on that day?
Dylan: I saw hope. More than newly built houses, I saw
transformed lives. We were entering rather dangerous
slums, breeding ground for thieves and kidnappers...
yet in the middle of that was an oasis... the Gawad
Kalinga village. I saw people smiling, men working,
children laughing... I've seen many other projects in
South East Asia and across the world. And I've never
seen anything like GK. This was different. This really
worked!
Bo: So what did you do after your trip?
Dylan: I went back to England. I saw my BMW parked in
the garage and realized I could build 80 homes with
it... and affect the lives of 600 people. I saw the
faces of the children I could help. I called up Tony
Meloto and told him I was thinking of donating
$100,000 to Gawad Kalinga and asked him if that was
okay...
Bo: What did Tony say?
Dylan: He said, "No, I don't want your money."
Bo: Only Tony can say something like that. (Laughs.)
Dylan: He said if I was really serious in working for
the poor, I should go back to the Philippines. So two
months later, I sold my BMW and flew back to Manila.
And in June of that year, I made a decision to stay in
the Philippines and work for GK for seven more years.
Bo: Wow.
Dylan: I've decided to invest in the poor of the
Philippines. Not in stocks or bonds. If I can help in
uplifting the poor of this country, I can say that I
spent my life well.
Bo: I presume your family wasn't too crazy about that
decision.
Dylan: No! They thought I was brainwashed by a
religious cult! (Laughs.) So my mother came and spied
on me. But she was soon convinced of the beautiful
work we were doing and went back home and told my
sister about it. And my sister said, "Oh no, they
brainwashed you too!" (Laughs.) But today, all of them
support what I do.
Bo: You've made a decision to give up your wealth for
the Filipino poor.
Dylan: I don't see it as a sacrifice. When you give
charity out of pity, you feel pain parting with your
money. But when you give charity because you love, you
don't feel that pain. You only feel the joy of giving
to someone you love. That's what I feel.
Bo: I hear you built an entire village for GK in
Bulacan.
Dylan: I don't see it as my village. I just provided
the materials. Architects, engineers, volunteers gave
their labor. Together, we built 63 houses for the
poor.
Bo: Amazing. What else do you do?
Dylan: I go around the world telling everyone that
Filipinos are heroic. Because I work with them every
day... the volunteers of GK.
Bo: What do you see in the Filipino that we take for
granted?
Dylan: You're hardworking. You're always laughing,
always eating, always singing. Even in your problems.
You're loyal. And honest. Sure, there are exceptions,
but generally, that's been my experience. And you have
the bayanihan spirit. The pyramids of Egypt are
beautiful but they were built by slavery. GK villages
are more beautiful because they're made through the
bayanihan spirit of the Filipino. It's especially this
bayanihan and love of family and community that makes
the Filipino more valuable than gold. If you take a
golden nugget and kick it on the floor for 400 years,
afterwards you won't be able to see much gold, just
mud. This was what happened to the Filipino... for 400
years you were slaves and then you suffered under
dictatorship and corruption. This is where the crab
mentality came from; I don't think it's a natural
Filipino quality because every day I see the gold
under the surface of ordinary Filipinos. If we wipe
away the mud by bringing hope and being brothers to
one another in bayanihan, the gold will shine through
and the world will see it.
Bo: Let me get personal here. I hear that you don't
only love the Filipinos, but you've fallen for a
particular Filipina.
Dylan: (Smiles.) Two months ago, I married Anna
Meloto, the eldest daughter of Tony Meloto. She grew
up with the GK work, so we're totally one in our
mission. And yes, I'll be having Filipino children.
The best way I can secure a future for my kids is to
continue to help raise this country from poverty.
Instead of building high walls in an exclusive
subdivision to protect us from thieves and kidnappers,
I will go to the breeding ground of thieves and
kidnappers and help transform their lives.
Bo: Thank you for this interview. You don't know how
much you inspired me.
Dylan: Thank you for being our partner in GK. I read
KERYGMA every month and I'm happy to see GK stories in
every issue.
Bo: It's our immense privilege to tell the world about
it and ask others to join the miracle.
Dylan: To me, GK isn't just Gawad Kalinga. It is a
part of "God's Kingdom" in this world. Thank you.
Let us be ordinary Filipinos...Mabuhay ka Dylan!!!