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May 13th, 2009

Watch, learn and make a difference!

There is no better time to open the exhibit “Water: Sustaining Life on Earth” last March 22 with the anticipated Sunday crowd of children and their families visiting the Manila Ocean Park. Seeing colorful water creatures found in the largest aquarium facility in the country inspires a certain sense of pride, which is an ideal sentiment to touch base on when people go on to view the exhibit.

January 30th

Coca-Cola Joins Haribon Rainforestation Activity

Through the rainforestation initiative of the environmental NGO Haribon Foundation a total of 172 Coca-Cola employees took part in the tree-planting activity organized by the Coca-Cola Foundation last January 31, 2009. This is in line with the Road to 2020 environmental conservation movement of Haribon, which aims to restore 1 million hectares of our rainforests using native tree species by year 2020.

January 26th

Give Back… Gain More

Give back… gain more

By giving back, we end up gaining more. Such is the thinking of the Tigers in Tacloban who regularly participate in opportunities to reach out and be of service to their fellow Leytenos in the community.

Proof of that, according to Tacloban Human Resources Manager Mary Jess Quijano, is the average turnout of 100 volunteers out of the 200-plus regular Coca-Cola employees in every outreach activity. The rest, Quijano said, are only unable to attend because their jobs involve operations of the plant and are therefore indispensable. "Otherwise, they would have offered to join without reluctance," Quijano said.

This year, Tacloban HR organized several volunteer activities in the plant including a Blood Drive in July, a Tree Planting Activity in October and a Little Red Schoolhouse Supplemental Teaching Program in November. Next month, the plant volunteers also plan to carry out a Feeding and Gift-Giving Project in time for the Christmas season.

January 25th

Coca-Cola Scholar Now A Little Red School Teacher

Little Red School Teacher

Riding in the backseat of a motorcycle with two other people through a bumpy seven-kilometer road along mountain slopes and rocky terrain sounds like a challenge on an adventure race reality TV show. But, to Rosemarie Neri, it is just part of her everyday routine. Her whole life, it seems, has been a cycle of never-ending challenges. Having been born to an underprivileged family with no means to provide for her education, Neri had to scout for scholarship programs so she could finish college.

In 2002, Neri was chosen as one of 10 scholars of Coca-Cola Foundation. She went to Leyte Normal University, where she took up BS Education against her will. “I don’t have patience with children,” Neri admits. She now teaches grades 1 and 2 at Pres. Roxas Elementary.

During the screening of scholars, Neri recalls having been asked if there was anything else that he would rather take up than education. She answered in the affirmative and said, ”I want to take up med tech.”

Barkada is a group of friends – but not just ''a group of friends''. As with many Filipino words, it is difficult to translate barkada to a single English word - ''clique'' and ''gang'' come close, but do not quite capture the essence of barkada. Clique connotes exclusivity and snobbishness. Gang, in the informal sense, mimics barkada but lacks the lifelong bond that differentiates barkada from a mere social group. The best definition of barkada is probably ''family'', minus the pre-requisite blood relationship. Barkada is the group of peers that one is always comfortable with, knowing that he will be accepted no matter what.