Two hundred employees from KMC Solutions hiked into the foothills of the Sierra Madre in July, carrying shovels and saplings, for a day of tree planting organized as part of KMC’s Corporate Social Responsibility program in partnership with ASSIST. By the end of the day, they’d planted 6,000 saplings across the sanctuary grounds.

The site, Gabriel’s Sanctuary, is a DENR and Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape-accredited reforestation area, part of the larger effort to restore the Upper Marikina Watershed. That watershed does real work for millions of people downstream — filtering water, absorbing rainfall, buffering against the flash floods that have become familiar across the region.

The volunteers came from departments across KMC — people who don’t normally cross paths at the office, spending the day hiking, digging, and planting across the sanctuary grounds together.

“We’ve got people from all departments across KMC, all coming together, knowing that they’re giving back to the community and the environment,” said Tom, one of the volunteers. “It’s been really impactful — not just in how we support these local communities, but in bringing the team together.”

For Irish, another volunteer, the day was a reminder of what small, unpaid effort adds up to.

“Knowing that in a very little way, we’re able to help not just people but the environment too — I think that’s more than enough reason to make this a habit,” she said. “Even just once a year.” 

For Macky, it was his first time planting a tree, and it left him thinking about what the forest could look like decades from now if days like this one add up.

“Help us to save nature,” he said, “because in 2090, we might not see Sierra Madre — and we know that Sierra Madre is our savior from the typhoons.”

Behind the day itself was a fair amount of groundwork that never makes it into a photo: sourcing 6,000 saplings, scheduling volunteer shifts, mapping which zones of the sanctuary needed planting. ASSIST worked alongside KMC to handle that planning ensuring that volunteers weren’t just spending a day outdoors but were putting in work toward a cause their community will feel the impact of for years to come.

The trees are in the ground, and the volunteers are hopeful the saplings will take root and the forest will slowly fill back in. Two hundred people showed up for one day. Six thousand saplings now have years ahead of them to reshape not just Sierra Madre but also the communities downstream.

ASSIST partners with corporations to turn employee volunteer days into measurable contributions to communities and the country’s environmental resilience. For partnership opportunities, fill out ourt Partnerships Form or visit assistasia.org to know more.

Twenty children from public elementary and high schools in San Juan, Ilocos Sur performed on stage on June 28, part of the ANNAKKO Talent Show 2026 — a program built around a simple premise: children who spend their time learning, playing, and performing are children who aren’t spending that time working in the fields.

The event is one stop in ANNAKKO Year 3: Our Children, Our Future, a 12-month program launched in November 2025 to prevent child labor across farming communities in Ilocos Sur by strengthening the systems around children — families, schools, and local support networks. Over its run, the program aims to reach 1,500 children, 500 parents, and 100 educators through activities that include a Children’s Rights Parade, digital literacy workshops, and summer leadership camps. 

The Talent Show, which held its first leg in Narvacan earlier this year, is designed to give children something more immediate: a stage, an audience, and a reason to be celebrated for something other than survival.

The event, co-organized with the Rotaract Club of Magsingal North Ilocos Sur, Trans-Manila, Inc. and Universal Leaf Philippines, Inc, opened with a short talk on child labor. The message was direct: every child has the right to learn and grow in an environment that protects them, not one that puts them to work. What followed gave that message a stage of its own — performances where children, and the families watching them, got to show what these kids can do when given the room to try.

Understanding the Mission Behind ANNAKKO

ANNAKKO stands as ASSIST’s response to the prevalence of child labor in small-scale farming communities. In many rural settings, families rely on unpaid household labor—including their children—just to keep agricultural operations afloat. However, ANNAKKO draws a vital line between child work and child labor. Light, age-appropriate tasks can build character and skills without harm. Child labor, by contrast, steals a child’s education, health, and future—a risk that runs especially high in informal farm settings. 

Grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ANNAKKO works alongside farming families to safeguard these young lives, ensuring that every child’s right to play, learn, and grow remains protected.

To date, the initiative’s community-centered approach has delivered tangible regional impact:

• 1,500+ children protected and engaged
• 500 parents and caregivers empowered
• 100 educators and community leaders trained

Events like the Narvacan Talent Show give children space to simply be children. On stage, young performers shared their creativity and passion with an enthusiastic crowd. Outstanding acts across the Elementary and High School divisions were recognized with plaques and cash prizes, surrounded by cheers from parents, teachers, and peers who gathered to celebrate their potential.

Beyond the Stage

ANNAKKO’s broader goal doesn’t end with an afternoon of performances. It continues in the classrooms, homes, and communities the program works year-round – the places where families are actually deciding, day to day, whether their children go on the field or stay in school. 

Highlighting the core driving force behind this work, Francis Macatulad, ASSIST’s Director for Business Development, emphasized:

“Our children are our future. As the leaders of tomorrow, children deserve the opportunities to learn, play and experience childhood away from the demands and hazards of child labor. ANNAKKO (‘My children’ in Ilocano) was designed to raise awareness among the youth on children’s rights and the importance of education.”

While the talent show offered a platform for creative expression, it represents just one facet of a multi-pronged community approach. “The program also organizes various enjoyable but empowering activities that build their knowledge and skills, such as leadership training, disaster resiliency games, summer camps, self-defense classes, talent shows, and art competitions,” he explained.

Programs like ANNAKKO are proof that community-led initiatives can rewrite the future for children in agriculture. By combining advocacy with creative outlets, we are helping build communities where every child’s right to education and play is protected.

“ASSIST is proud to uphold children’s rights and contribute to child labor protection among small-holder farming communities in Region 1,” Macatulad added, “and we hope to expand our impact to other parts of the Philippines.”

Help us bring this vision to more farming communities across the Philippines. Share this story to raise awareness about child rights and collaborate with us on upcoming field activities and youth interventions. To partner with us, fill out this Partnerships Form or visit assistasia.org to know more.

PARANAQUE, Philippines – Nearly 200 volunteers from Wells Fargo turned out on July 3, 2026, for a coastal clean-up drive at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP), one of Metro Manila’s last remaining critical wetland ecosystems. Organized in partnership with ASSIST, the initiative drew 188 volunteers who spent the morning clearing debris from the park’s shoreline. 

Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, or LPPWP, is a 181.63-hectare protected area spanning Freedom Island and Long Island. It’s a sanctuary for migratory birds and endangered species, and it plays a key role in mitigating flooding for the communities around it.

Left unchecked, accumulated coastal debris threatens both. Trash piling up along the shoreline doesn’t just harm the habitat’s biodiversity, it also interferes with the flood-control function the wetland provides to nearby residents. That is where the 188 volunteers came in.

Following an orientation on the site’s ecological importance, teams moved along the shoreline to gather and categorize waste—including single-use plastics, PET bottles, styrofoam, rubber, and glass—ensuring it could be properly recycled or disposed of downstream. In a single morning, the teams freed critical waterways from buildup, helping safeguard surrounding neighborhoods from urban flooding and revitalizing one of Metro Manila’s vital natural habitats. 

The initiative demonstrates how purposeful corporate volunteering turns CSR commitments into measurable environmental impact—advancing Wells Fargo’s local sustainability goals while deepening employee engagement. By partnering with ASSIST, corporate leaders can translate their ESG commitments into hands-on conservation work that delivers real, lasting benefits for vulnerable ecosystems. 

Explore our work and partner with us by filling out our Partnerships Form or visit assistasia.org to know more.

SAN JUAN, Philippines — On August 15, 2026, Megawide Corporation partnered up with ASSIST for the Megawide Master of Disaster (MOD) Rollout at Santolan Town Plaza, bringing together around 45 students from Ateneo de Manila University, UP Diliman, and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, along with their parents, for a hands-on session with ASSIST’s Master of Disaster (MOD) board game. More than just play, it built the vital knowledge and confidence communities need when disaster strikes. 

This event aims to equip Megawide Foundation’s university scholars with essential disaster preparedness knowledge through the MOD board game. There’s a reason game-based learning works: when knowledge is lived rather than lectured, it stays. Through MOD, students and parents tackled real-world disaster scenarios together, translating complex preparedness concepts into practical, life-saving strategy.. For the players of the game, it was more than just fun, it was an educational experience and a rehearsal for disaster resilience.

Employees Leading by Example

What made the day especially meaningful were those who showed up to play. Megawide employees didn’t simply observe from the sidelines — they sat down, rolled the dice, and played alongside the students, embodying the kind of hands-on community engagement that turns corporate values into lived experience.

Adding to the event’s impact, Megawide Corporate Foundation, Inc. (MCFI) President Tata Saavedra participated alongside scholars, reinforcing the foundation’s commitment to the initiative.

A Model Worth Multiplying

Days like this remind us of something bigger — that disaster preparedness education doesn’t have to be boring or terribly serious. It can be interactive, memorable, and shared. ASSIST believes this game-based model is one more organizations can and should adopt, transforming preparedness training from a checkbox into a genuine, shared investment in community resilience.

About the Partnership

The Megawide MOD Rollout reflects Megawide Corporation and MCFI’s ongoing commitment to community resilience, brought to life through ASSIST’s Master of Disaster program. Together, ASSIST and Megawide continue to explore new ways to bring disaster preparedness education directly to the students, families, and communities who stand to benefit most.

Ready to bring MOD to your organization or community? ASSIST partners with corporations, schools, and local governments to deliver game-based disaster preparedness training that turns learning into lived experience. Reach out to ASSIST to explore how we can co-create your own MOD rollout by filling out the Partnerships Form or visit assistasia.org to start a conversation!