Better World Tondo is where San Miguel employees proudly volunteer alongside family members. Daughters, sons, wives, and husbands are all part of our growing volunteer ecosystem. It takes a village to raise a village. At Better World Tondo, we know this to be true.
At Better World Tondo, we've adopted four aspin and several stray kittens into our community! To help us care for them, San Miguel Foods' animal feeds division (run by certified animal lovers), has taken it upon themselves to donate a huge bag of Nutri Chunks every month!
Those already suffering from hunger on a daily basis will need our help in the months ahead. With a huge risk of increased malnutrition among the poor in both rural and urban centers. San Miguel's commitment to feed the hungry will continue even after the lockdown.
Cyd Suralbo, one of our Ligtas Lahat vaccinators, has a passion for helping, which pushes him to work hard. “Seeing the relief on a person’s face after being vaccinated is one of the most rewarding feelings,” Cyd says.
We marked SMC131st anniversary of serving others. With our San Miguel family now protected, we prioritize protecting our host communities. Our Ligtas Lahat team vaccinated persons deprived of liberty (PDL) at the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City.
SMC's support staff has grown and sold vegetables, including eggplant, okra, romaine lettuce, and kale. Teamwork is important to Backyard Bukid's success. Andy Detorres says, “Lahat po tulong tulong sa proyekto para mas mapalaki o mapalawak pa. Dahil ang bawat isa sa amin ang makikinabang.”
Family planning empowers women to freely and responsibly decide how many children they want and how to best space out their pregnancies. This enables women to live better and healthier lives, leading to better and healthier lives for their children.
A big part of making Better World Cubao a safe space for women is ensuring that their concerns are heard, including access to essential health services! Our nanays from Cubao will be able to avail of free general consultations, reproductive health services, and laboratory tests!
Our Abante Babae workshops cover Violence Against Women and Children, gender equality, and reproductive health. At Better World Cubao, we are committed to learning about the silent struggles that women experience, the support they need, and their aspirations in life.
Rural Rising has been our partner in rescuing surplus vegetables from farming communities in Luzon. They ensure that no food goes to waste and that farmers receive fair income. They’ve rescued produce like bintong from Aglipay, Quirino, pineapple, and pili nuts from San Lorenzo Ruiz, Camarines Norte.
We were able to provide 117 free health consultations in Better World Tondo. Nanay Marla Napoles says, “Kahit pagod ang mga doctor at staff, nagawa pa din nilang ngumiti sa mga pasyente at nagawa nila ang kanilang tungkulin. May heart-to-heart talk ang doctor at patient!”
For Dr. Jolet, creating the #WorldWeWant starts with ourselves. “If we have the passion for helping, it will open a lot of opportunities for us to experience things that we may not have been exposed to otherwise,” he says, “We have to work together to attain a just and fair world for all.”
UP jeepney drivers were invited to take home free vegetables from Better World Diliman. This is our small way of saying thank you to some of the most hardworking people in our Diliman community.
Every Monday since the lockdown, member families of Better World Tondo congregate at the community center for a week's rations of essential foodstuff. Food banking is a support mechanism that might help as public schools and community centers remain closed. With the help of a few volunteers and donations from a handful of big corporates and SMEs, Better World Tondo is serving the food needs of over 900 indigent families.
The poorest barangay in Antipolo, Barangay Cawalis, located at the foothills of Mt. Purro, is also the most inaccessible. The Luzon quarantine made access to and from Cawalis even more difficult. Through the amazing PusoKitchen, at least 300 people get a good meal.
Over 110 children from ages 5-11 were vaccinated at Better World Tondo! Asked how she felt about her kids getting vaccinated, Christina Carillo Zapata said, “Masaya kasi may proteksyon laban sa Covid at hindi na ako magaalala.” Seven of her brood (Nanay Christina has eight kids) were vaccinated yesterday. As our learning center begins in-person classes, we’re hugely relieved that our kids can now return safely to BWT.
Every day can be stressful for those who live in Tondo, many of whom (even in the best of times) are struggling to eat three square meals a day. We are so thankful to our partners and donors who are still sending us food despite the lockdown and the fear of COVID-19. Thank you to Nissin Monde for donating hundreds of eggs to Better World Tondo. Every Monday, we give what we can.
"No child should at no time go hungry." This belief propels Project Pearls in its life-giving work of providing for the poorest of the poor. During the lockdown, they brought much needed food to Helping Land and Happy Land. We're proud to belong to the same One Tondo coalition of like-minded NGOs and foundations working to bring an end to poverty.
Following the lockdown, food distribution has been scaled back to once a week. Yet BWT members are comforted knowing that they will not go hungry, despite the growing health crisis that may force many more families to skip meals and scramble for scarce, subsidized food.
