VOLUNTEERING FOR OUR PLANET:  Environmental Education in Celebration of International Volunteer Day - Dec. 5, 2009

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 16-21. The images can also be seen on the our FACEBOOK page or the children's BLOGGER site.

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 24^th 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.

 Volunteerism is a Work of the Heart

International Volunteer Day celebrates the spirit of selfless giving of time and services, as witnessed by the widespread display of volunteerism after Typhoon Ondoy. Rebecca Wells, Australian VIDA Volunteer working with the Baguio Center for Young Adults says "Environmental education is vital to ensuring our young people are aware of their responsibilities and their rights when it comes to environmental issues. To see the smiles on these children's faces despite their recent hardships is so heart-warming for us volunteers.”

Efren B. Cabbigat, Program Specialist at CFSPI forged the partnership between CFSPI and the International Volunteer Day Coordinators. "This event is a continuation of the work we do with the youth organizations in Bekkel - Youth Fighting Crime and   IB-A (Brother-Sister) Youth Organizations said Mr. Cabbigat. "It's about bringing back the respect of young people to become concerned with and more accountable to the community. This means being environmentally responsible and aware enough to avoid crimes against the community and to teach their fellow youth to do the same.”

International Volunteer Day is a collaborative effort of foreign and local volunteers: United Nations Volunteers, Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development, Volunteering for International Development from Australia, United States Peace Corps, Korea International Cooperation Agency - Korea Overseas Volunteers, Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers and VSO-Bahaginan.

It is supported by volunteer- and environment-focused government agencies and cities:  Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Office, Department of Natural Environment and Resources, City Government of Marikina.

The Environmental Awareness Education Day was sponsored by United Nations Development Program and Child and Family Service Philippines with contributions from the SK Barangay Bekkel.

For more information please contact:  Daniele Maréchal, VIDA Volunteer from Child and Family Service Philippines. (+63) 74 445 3800 dbmarechal@gmail.com Or for more information on the YFC organization or any other CFSPI programs please contact Efren Cabbigat or Beverly Simon +63 74 445 3800.