7 August 2007
Mabuhay Merial! Mabuhay Merial Philippines! 

The Merial Philippines Team celebrated our 10^th Year Anniversary with several activities spread over a two-day period in early August.

This was started off with all 33 members taking six rubber rafts and paddling through the white waters of the Cagayan River. The four hour journey served as both a teambuilding and nature appreciation experience. While physically exhausting and at times quite scary, everyone agreed that it was a most unique and enjoyable experience.

The following day the group split into two teams to do community work in the small town of Medina in Misamis Oriental, a province in the Northern part of Mindanao. One team worked on a house Merial Philippines donated to a family under the Gawad Kalinga Project (our home grown version of Habitat for Humanities). The other team conducted free rabies vaccination of dogs in the different communities of Medina. It was back breaking work and the sun was quite hot but we all felt a deep sense of satisfaction from being able to help our fellowmen.

The day was capped off with a dinner and program where we viewed the corporate videos and also a surprise slide show presentation of pictures from company activities over the past ten years. After the presentations and with the lights still dim, a birthday cake with lighted candles was then brought in. Not only was it Merial’s birthday but August is also the birth month of seven of our employees! The party stretched past midnight as the group shifted to karaoke and dancing.

During this period we stayed at the scenic Duka Bay Resort in Medina and we even managed to squeeze in some snorkeling and beach volleyball. All these activities even inspired one of our members to write a poem about our experiences.

Mabuhay means ‘Long Live’ in Tagalog and is used as a greeting for most occasions.

Always with time to pose.  The first team reaches the Gawad Kalinga site in Medina, Misamis Oriental. 

Appearance of the 'house' when we got there.

Even the ladies did their share.

At Merial we are trained to pose whenever there is a camera around.

Building the walls that will unite us.

The vaccination team assigned to the town plaza.

Doc Ana gives a shot while her team members help by posing for the camera.

Our swine specialist has gone to the dogs.

Our August birthday celebrants blow out the candle on the Merial birthday cake.

Happy Anniversary! Posing for posterity.

The advantage of having the only camera on your raft.

The ladies get a briefing on how to use the paddles.

The scenery was also breathtaking.

Boodle fight. The guys felt that it was unfair that the ladies had bigger appetites.

After our lunch: enough energy to resume posing.