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Some people think volunteering is a “peace-man”,
altruistic, hippy thing. As for Carmela David, volunteering comes
very naturally and finds that volunteering is about giving your time
to partake in action-oriented environmental activities that could
help raise awareness about the deteriorating state of our
country’s environment.
“My passion for volunteer work
and the environment started when I volunteered for Haribon.”
She eventually became a Haribon
member and was among the three hundred 45 walkers of the
Foundation’s 2007 Million Hectare Walk who joined together to
raise funds to save the remaining Philippine rainforests. Carmela
were also among the intrepid Haribon members who trekked Mount
Pinatubo last year in July.
However, her duties as a Haribon
member does not end with the Foundation’s activities, and has had
other opportunities with other organizations to develop and enrich
her knowledge about environmental issues. Immediately after
graduating from De La Salle University in 2006, she volunteered for
six months in the United Kingdom and Davao for a program of VSO
Bahaginan called Global Xchange Programme. Now, she is currently
working for Hands On Manila Foundation, a non-profit organization
dedicated to providing members with diverse and flexible volunteer
opportunities that address the needs of the community.
For Carmela, reversing our
lifestyles’ negative impacts to the environment is an everyday
conviction as well. “ I do small things: refusing plastic
materials whenever possible, conserving energy by unplugging
electronics not being utilized, not using straws, bringing my own
bag when shopping—hopefully these small greener actions would add
up to big things someday, and more likely so if others can join me
to do the same.”
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