We were so happy to see post on Facebook by Abigail Ho, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Executive at British American Tobacco. BAT is global tobacco group founded in 1902, with brands sold in more than 200 markets. The company understands that the tobacco industry is a controversial one, and takes care to act responsibly from local to global level. British American Tobacco supports rural communities in the developing world and is reaching out to the poor in the Philippines through NVC.
Abigail says:
When I joined BAT in January 2014, my first task was to craft a plan on how to help Yolanda survivors, using money donated by our employees all over the world. The first part, the outright donation, was easy enough. We gave the first P1 million of our Yolanda fund to Sagip Kapamilya. Then came the difficult part — finding Yolanda-stricken communities that didn’t get as much help and attention as Tacloban.
I went as far as some faraway towns in Capiz to conduct ocular inspections, engage with potential local government partners, and do some initial community profiling. After almost three months of back-and-forth talks and another ocular visit, we decided to change tack.
My friend Ivy said she knew someone who could help. That someone was Yellow Boat founder Jay Jaboneta. Due to some alignment issues, Jay recommended that I discuss a possible partnership with Millie Kilayko, president of Negrense Volunteers for Change (NVC), instead. I had a breakfast meeting with Ms Millie on June 12, 2014, and I immediately knew that we had finally found the right partner.
After a few months of planning and profiling, with the help of NVC executive director Carmela Regalado and project coordinator Alyne Batano, we identified three beneficiary-communities: Brgy. Garawon in Hernani, Eastern Samar; Brgy. Bagacay in Tacloban City, Leyte; and Brgy. Capiñahan in Naval, Biliran (special thanks also go out to Victor Del Rosario). And the rest, as they say, is history.
Initial turnover of fishing boats, fishing implements, tricycles, and pedicabs was done in November 2014. Shortly after that, in January, we turned over more boats. The last component of our aid package, two multi-purpose community centers, were turned over to beneficiaries in June.
This is, so far, my most meaningful project in my more than 19 months with BAT. There’s something about the smiles on our beneficiaries’ faces that make all the energy, time, and effort spent on this project worthwhile.
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