Dumaguete City – 11,000 trees were planted during the massive Mangrove Tree Planting Activity on October 7, 2023, to honor the 50 years of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, a thousand trees each for the 10 ASEAN member states and Japan.  The occasion was spearheaded by the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) International Philippines, Inc. (SIP, Inc) in partnership with the Allied Mangrove Planting Organizations (AMPO).  

Former SIP Chairperson, Dr. Melissa Reyes, stated that the Mangrove planting was a positive manifestation of the organization’s advocacy to address environmental issues.  “We wanted a project that is viable, sustainable and definitely beneficial for the future”, Reyes said. According to her, the SIP planting activity was also in support of AMPO’s goal of growing 10 million mangroves in 10 years.

SIP, Inc. is the Alumni Association of former Participating Youths of the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) from the Philippines. SSEAYP is an annual youth exchange program aimed to promote friendship and mutual understanding among the youths of Japan and the ten Southeast Asian countries, to broaden their perspective of the world, strengthen their spirit of international cooperation, and practical skills for international collaboration. The program piloted in 1974 with Japan and five ASEAN members namely Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, and the Kingdom of Thailand. Thereafter, other ASEAN nations subsequently joined in: Brunei Darussalam in 1985; the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1996; Lao people’s Democratic Republic and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar both were added 1998; and, lastly in 2000, the Kingdom of Cambodia was welcomed into the Program. SSEAYP is implemented by the Government of Japan through the International Youth Exchange Office (IYEO) with the active participation and cooperation of the ten Southeast Asian countries.

Aside from the officials and members of SIP, also called ex participating youths (ex- PYs), hundreds of other volunteers were mobilized to accomplish the task. Sidney Lee who hails from Dumaguete, ex-PY 1991 and National Leader of batch 2018, and an active champion for AMPO since 2015 was at the helm of this project.

Kelly Mercado-Flynn
Batch 1991