MANILA – Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation employees recently participated in a meal packing event for the benefit of the families affected by the Marawi siege. The program was an initiative under Love and Care, the annual employee volunteer program for the tech giant’s subsidiaries in the Southeast Asia and Oceania region.
Launched in 2015, Love and Care began with an outreach activity at the Pann Pyo Let Monastic School in Myanmar. Over 50 Samsung employees from the region helped out in the first run. In 2016, 60 employees taught over 2,000 children in a follow-up activity under the volunteer program in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
This year, Samsung Philippines began spearheading Love and Care initiatives in the country. On October 13, the company led a rehabilitation program for the Ipo Watershed helping more than 12 million residents of Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces who depend on the reservoir for freshwater.
Last October 20, Samsung Philippines teamed up with Rise Against Hunger (RAH), a global non-profit organization that aims to end worldwide hunger by mobilizing resources to provide nutritious food and other life-changing aid to the world’s most vulnerable. The non-profit’s Philippine arm currently counts Marawi among its beneficiaries. Samsung Philippines’ top executives joined the employees in packing hundreds of boxes of meals, enough to feed over thousands of Filipino families.
“From protecting natural resources to making quality education accessible, we at Samsung are constantly finding ways to help out our local communities.” said Samsung Philippines’ President and CEO, Kevin Lee. “Military heads say it is only a matter of time before the siege will be over. Still, its residents are in need of help. Major structures and institutions are reduced to rubble, making it hard for families to sustain themselves,” added Samsung Philippines’ Head of Corporate Citizenship, Twyla David. “With malnutrition posing a great health threat to evacuees, Rise Against Hunger Philippines (RAH) took the initiative to reach out to Marawi’s citizens, providing nutritious meals to help them recover. We are honored to work with RAH Philippines in this endeavor.”
This is the second time that Samsung Philippines partnered with RAH for its corporate citizenship efforts. In July, employee volunteers prepared 22,000 meals for Gota de Leche Manila, a non-profit organization that addresses the needs of malnourished mothers and children.
“October is World Hunger Action Month, and the theme for this year is ‘Migrants and Refugees.’ Over 200,000 citizens have been displaced since the war began in Marawi. Residents have taken refuge in evacuation centers in the municipality of Saguiaran,” said RAH Philippines Executive Director Jomar Fleras. “We are grateful for Samsung’s continued support in our humanitarian endeavors. We were moved by the hard work and energy of the volunteers. We are looking forward to more partnerships with them.”
Samsung Philippines will launch more Love and Care programs in the next few months, centered on the environment, community and health, and quality education.
In main image, Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO) President and CEO Kevin Lee led employees in packing thousands of meals for displaced Filipino families in Marawi.
