HARVARD Club Philippines (HCP) celebrated Harvard’s Global Day of Service by giving donations to homeless individuals in Manila in the care of the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Foundation (Ajkfi) on August 31.

“As [Harvard’s] alumni club in the Philippines, we thought we should participate in this tradition and I am grateful to all our members who helped make this happen. It was very inspiring to see how AJ Kalinga is run,” shared HCP copresident Carol Dominguez.

Dominguez and other Harvard alumni visited the AJ Kalinga Center in Tayuman, Manila to turnover 20 pieces of 25-kilogram sacks of rice, along with 1,440 550-milliliter bottles of water from Manila Water.

Harvard Club member and Manila Water Regulatory Affairs Director Kaye Celera supported the activity by providing the water bottles since it is in line with their advocacy on providing clean water and sanitation for all.

Ajfki Founder Flavie Villanueva commended the group’s concern for the marginalized.

“Our dear friends from Harvard Club offered something from their hearts. In [doing so], those in search [of] a slice of dignity and some sense of normality found what they were looking for. Now, that is how true greatness is shaped, something worth emulating,” Villanueva said.

HCP trustee Gianna Motinola recommended AJfki based on a previous experience she had, citing that she was impressed with how efficiently it was run.

The Harvard University community observed its annual Global Day of Service on September 1.