On Dec 5, hundreds of local and foreign volunteers joined in global celebrations for International Volunteer Day. Environmental cleanup activities were organized in Marikina River and Manila Bay and for the Cordillera, an Environmental Awareness Education Day was held at Bekkel National High School in Benguet.Over two hundred children participated in the event, which was organized by five of Baguio’s foreign volunteers from Australia, America and Korea, in partnership with Child and Family Service Philippines who regularly conduct activities with the school and surrounding community.
The day began with environmental fun and games and included three educational modules on solid waste management, making compost plant food and raising awareness about water pollution. The day also included a Christmas decoration contest with decorations made entirely from recycled materials. The winning decorations are being displayed at SM City Baguio from December 14 for one week.
The winning classes won cash prizes amounting to four thousand pesos for the beautification of their school. “This is very timely”, said Bekkel Annex Head Teacher Mr. Johnson B. Legaspi, “Our school is only 3 years old and we are utilizing the efforts of our students, parents and community volunteers to make our school a better place for our children to grow and learn.”
International Volunteer Day - December 5 - is in its 24th year, having been established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985. Now a truly global event, thousands of activities are celebrated across the globe in tribute to the thriving volunteer spirit
This year’s global theme for International Volunteer Day was “Volunteering for our Planet”, which is timely given the Philippines recent onslaught of tropical typhoons. As such, the activities planned for the Philippines concentrate on raising awareness of climate change and environmental issues, but also aim to inspire action.
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