Join us in the Philippines to help children in need!
Apply now through April 18th, 2025 to join us in Camarines Sur, Philippines to serve children in need at the Alejandro T Manaog Elementary School from June 4-11, 2025! On this service trip, you’ll work alongside fellow Young Living APAC brand partners to support learning and nutrition at the school, and enjoy a tour of the Happy Pili Tree Farm and Distillery.
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THE REGION
The Asia-Pacific region is no stranger to extreme weather and natural disasters. The Philippines, comprised of a series of islands, has been especially vulnerable in recent years due to changes in long-term weather patterns which result in more severe and disruptive disasters.
The Alejandro T Manaog Elementary School in the Bicol region has experienced several destructive typhoons in the past decade which have destroyed their classrooms and campus, leaving 160 children in the area already vulnerable to the effects of poverty without a reliable space to learn and grow.
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THE REASON
In 2018, Rosalina Tan, owner of the Happy Pili Tree Farm, informed us of the severe needs of a school down the road in the catastrophic aftermath of a typhoon. Roofs blew away, walls crumbled, and due to the school’s unstable structure, students nearly stopped attending.
Children in this area are already vulnerable to the effects of poverty; many are food insecure at home, meaning they lack consistent access to enough safe, healthy, and affordable food. Even at school, due to a lack of resources, students whose families cannot provide a healthy lunch often go hungry during the day as school meals are not yet guaranteed to every child who needs them. As a result, many children in the region experience stunting and wasting which negatively impact their academic performance and can cause lifelong problems such as reduced income-earning potential and increased chronic health issues. Since we've started efforts to change this at the Alejandro T. Manaog Elementary School, we've seen many positive results!
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THE REACH
With the Young Living Foundation’s support, not only are 160 children back in school learning in a safe and well-equipped space at ATMES, but malnutrition has gone down! Each year a nurse conducts health checks at the school to measure the Body Mass Index of students to measure stunting and wasting and have detected a decrease in the presence of both among the children. Grades have also improved as students, parents, and teachers take pride in their beautiful campus and have a renewed excitement about learning.
And now, we seek to deepen our impact for these students. During our time at the school, we’ll be enhancing the campus and school garden infrastructure. These improvements will reinforce our commitment to these students’ educations and continue to improve their learning outcomes far into the future!
