GARC Joins the Philippines in Celebrating World Rabies Day 2025!
With the theme “Act Now: You, Me, Community,” GARC proudly joined various community activities across the Philippines to celebrate World Rabies Day this year. From schools to universities and local government offices, GARC worked with partners nationwide to spread the life-saving message that rabies is 100% preventable!
Throughout the celebrations, GARC focused on empowering communities, especially children, teachers, and students, with the knowledge and tools to help End Rabies Now.
Spreading Awareness in Oriental Mindoro
For the fourth year in a row, GARC participated in the SD4G Stop Rabies Project of Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro. During the week-long activity, GARC championed fun and interactive rabies education sessions in four public elementary schools, reaching 588 children. The sessions covered bite prevention, proper wound washing, and responsible dog ownership in an educational and engaging way. Staff from different departments of Boehringer Ingelheim Philippines completed the Rabies Educator Certificate (REC) course and volunteered as educators during the activity.
The Municipal Agriculture Office of Puerto Galera, together with Provincial Veterinary Offices of the Region 4B, as well as volunteers from various government offices and institutions, led the free mass dog and cat vaccination, and neuter services offered throughout Puerto Galera. The success of the project was made possible through the strong collaboration among local government offices, partner organizations, and private institutions, a true example of community teamwork in action.
Girl Scouts Learn and Lead in Sorsogon
In Sorsogon, GARC joined the Girl Scouts of the Philippines Sorsogon Council. They celebrated their 75th founding anniversary with a special Mother and Daughter Camp. More than 1,400 girl scouts and their parents joined the fun-filled event, where GARC taught the importance of rabies awareness, bite prevention, bite management, and responsible dog ownership.
The children learned what to do if an animal bites or scratches them. The key takeaway was to tell their parents immediately instead of keeping it secret. Mothers and teachers were also reminded to respond with care and urgency by cleaning the wound properly and visiting the nearest health facility for post-exposure vaccination.
Empowering Teachers and Students as Rabies Educators
At GARC, we believe in the importance of community empowerment. We emphasized the need to have more rabies educators from the community. The Pasig City World Rabies Day celebration highlighted the importance of empowering teachers as rabies educators. Elementary and high school teachers attended the seminar, wherein GARC shared their free online resources and educational materials to integrate rabies awareness into their lessons. This ensures that knowledge reaches even more children in their classrooms.
University students also participated in several WRD initiatives in Bulacan. Organized by student organizations SAVER and IVSA of the Bulacan State Agriculture University, GARC was invited to give a rabies awareness talk, encouraging students to become Rabies Champions in their own communities. They also held free mass dog and cat vaccination drives, proving that young people can make a big difference in rabies elimination.
Community Champions in Agusan del Norte
The Agusan del Norte Provincial Veterinary Office, a recognized Rabies Center of Excellence (RCE), also joined the celebrations with a series of rabies education activities for school children, parents, and village officials. Using GARC’s educational materials, they helped spread accurate and practical information on rabies elimination across their communities.
This year’s WRD celebrations showed the power of teamwork and education in ending rabies. Together with partners, teachers, students, and local leaders, GARC continues to champion the message that rabies elimination starts with all of us: You, Me, Community! It is time to Act Now.