The Philippines’ leading airline, Cebu Pacific re-affirms its partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund or Unicef, as donations collected through the Change for Good initiative were used to implement health and nutrition development projects in rural communities in Northern Samar, Zamboanga and Maguindanao.
Together with Unicef celebrity advocate for children Anne Curtis and local rural health workers, volunteers from the Cebu Pacific cabin crew visited Bobon, Northern Samar—one of the beneficiary-areas of donations collected from Cebu Pacific passengers through the Change for Good initiative.
During the site visit in Bobon, Curtis and the CEB cabin crew joined Unicef and local government staff in giving prenatal, immunization and nutrition services to mothers and children. Bobon is one of the areas in the Philippines with the highest rates of stunting—an irreversible condition that prevents children from growing, learning, and earning in the future
“Cebu Pacific reaffirms its commitment to our partnership with Unicef and the Change for Good initiative. We thank our passengers for the continued generosity and to our cabin crew and personnel who ensure that this meaningful program runs smoothly on all of our flights out of our Manila, Cebu and Iloilo hubs. We hope we can continue to find ways to give back to the community, to our stakeholders and our customers,” said Atty. JR Mantaring, Cebu Pacific vice president for corporate affairs.
Collections for Change for Good on all CEB flights out of Manila, Iloilo and Cebu are used for Unicef Philippines’ “First 1,000 Days” campaign, which aims to provide optimal health and nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a Filipino child, from conception to the child’s second year of life. As of July 2017, donations from CEB passengers have helped prevent micronutrient deficiencies of around 41,000 children and 46,000 pregnant women in the Philippines.
“I was so happy to see how the donations given inflight actually helped children and families in Bobon, Northern Samar. The next time you see a flight attendant bring the Change for Good bag down the aisle, don’t hesitate to give your spare change. Any amount, no matter how big or small, goes a long way for children’s health and nutrition,” said Curtis.
Change for Good is a partnership between Unicef and the international airline industry, designed to collect coins of various currencies from travelers and use these to pool funds for life-saving materials and programs.