Piles of rubbish are scattered all over the area as a result of floods and landslides that occur during the rainy season. In times like these, a group of young people have stepped up to clean up the environment.
The volunteers, mainly consisting of members of ASEZ WAO – the Young Adult Worker Volunteer Group of the World Mission Society Church of God (Church of God), led by General Pastor Kim Joo-cheol, collected trash in and around an elementary school in Bacolod.
Over 60 people, including some members of ASEZ WAO, their families and friends, gathered in front of the Apolinario Mabini Elementary School. The cheerful volunteers in blue vests thoroughly cleaned the inside of the school and the neighborhood streets as well. The cleanup activity lasted about two hours, and the collected trash filled 30 sacks weighing a total of 250 kilograms. Each sack was filled with various types of plastic waste such as disposable cups, as well as broken branches, weeds from flower beds, and fallen leaves. They also help to clean the school like the school library.
Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran praised the young people for their active community volunteer participation. Some residents, who had been watching the cleanup activity, also expressed their gratitude to the volunteers, saying that the school had become safer and brighter for their children.
The City of Bacolod and some of the local companies supported the young people with cleaning tools and beverages.
On the same day, over 80 members of ASEZ WAO in Digos City, Davao, conducted a coastal cleanup, as part of the “Blue Ocean” project. The coastal residents, who had been suffering from various types of marine debris carried by ocean currents, greatly welcomed the cleanup volunteer activity of the young adults. In Las Piñas, Metro Manila, which had been affected by Super Typhoon Carina, the Environment Forum was held to address desertification and land degradation, receiving enthusiastic responses from all walks of life.
In addition to the “Green Earth” project aimed at cleaning up downtown areas, parks and forests, ASEZ WAO actively conducts the “Blue Ocean” project to protect streams, rivers and seas, the “Mother’s Forest” project that contributes to reducing carbon emissions and enhancing biodiversity, and the “No More GPGP” project that spearheaded efforts to reduce plastic waste.
ASEA WAO has been working in the Philippines for nearly ten years. Earlier this year, ASEZ WAO also carried out the “Blue Ocean” project in Cancabato Bay, Tacloban, the “Green Earth” project in Calamba, Laguna, and the “Mother’s Forest” project in Mariveles, Bataan.
The organization’s name “ASEZ WAO” stands for “Save the Earth from A to Z” and “We Are One Family,” which means, “Let us save the earth from the beginning to the end, as one family.” To help achieve sustainable development for humanity and the planet, ASEZ WAO members engage in various activities such as climate change response, educational support, welfare promotion, disaster relief, and cultural exchange.*
