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The Akay Movement.
A movement built for every family caregiver in Southeast Asia.
Who we serve
Not a nurse. Not a professional. Just someone who loves them.
Across Asia, more than 80% of long-term care is provided by family caregivers. They are not nurses. They are not trained. They are daughters, wives, and sisters who stepped into the role because someone had to. The Akay Movement walks beside them. So they know they are not alone.
A family caregiver is not a hired professional. She is the daughter who manages her mother's medications before going to work. The wife who tracks her husband's blood pressure between household chores. The sister who coordinates the family group chat so nothing falls through the cracks.
Most family caregivers in Asia are women, and formal support programs for them remain scarce. WHO, ADB and ILO call them family, informal or unpaid caregivers, to set them apart from paid professional care.
They are not informal. They are not casual. They are the backbone of care across the region and they have been invisible for too long.
Sources: Jiang, Wu and Li, Health Care Science, 2024; Asian Development Bank, Aging Well in Asia, 2024.
- 80%Of long-term care in Asia is provided by family caregivers, most of them women.Source: Jiang, Wu and Li, Health Care Science, 2024, citing OECD, Health at a Glance 2023
- 28 hoursA week that Filipino women spend on unpaid care work, more than three times the 8.6 hours men spend.Source: Philippine Institute for Development Studies, 2026
- 43%Of older Asians with a functional limitation have gaps in their care, on average.Source: Asian Development Bank, 2024
What is it
Built on one Filipino word
The movement is built on pag-akay, to guide by the hand through something hard. This is not a marketing program. It is not a CSR initiative. It is an advocacy.
In Asia, more than 80% of long-term care is carried by family caregivers, most with little training and little support. The Akay Movement is here to say: we see you.
Filipino psychologist Ma. Lourdes Carandang gave her a name in 1987: the tagasalo. Tagasalo means the one who catches, the family member who feels responsible for everyone and absorbs everything the family cannot hold. She has been doing this work in Filipino families for generations. The Akay Movement is building something for her.
Source: Ma. Lourdes Carandang, Filipino Children Under Stress: Family Dynamics and Therapy, 1987.
Akaiin is named after the Tagalog word akayin. It means to walk beside you while holding your hand.
We take your hand. You take theirs.
- Akaiin guides the family caregiver
- Akay Volunteer guides the community
- The family caregiver guides their loved one
Mission
To find every unseen family caregiver across Southeast Asia, capture their story, and build a community where no one carries the weight of care alone.
Vision
A Southeast Asia where unpaid family caregivers are recognized, resourced, and never invisible, powered by a generation that chose to show up.
By 2050, Southeast Asia is expected to have about 173 million older adults. The Akay Movement is building the community infrastructure to meet that moment. (World Health Organization, 2025)
"Supporting informal family caregivers is essential to ensure continued care."
How you can serve
Volunteer roles
Interviewer and videographer
You are the voice of the movement. You find the family caregivers who have never been asked about their story and you make sure the world hears it. Research shows they get little recognition or support. You make them visible. You go to them personally. You listen. You film. You give them a moment they will never forget.
Apply for this roleVideo editor
You take raw, human footage and turn it into something that moves people. Behind every family caregiver story is decades of invisible labor. Your edit is what makes someone stop scrolling and finally see it.
Apply for this roleFacebook community builder
You are the daily heartbeat of the movement online. In Asia and the Pacific, 52% of women outside the labor force say care responsibilities are the main reason (ILO, 2026). You show up in the spaces where these women already gather and you make them feel like they are not alone.
Apply for this role
What you receive
No pay. Something better.
WHO reports that the time and effort of informal caregiving is worth an estimated 0.8% to 4.9% of GDP each year. The work of documenting and supporting family caregivers is not small. Neither is what you will take away from it.
Reference letter
Written personally by Maria for job, grad school, or scholarship applications, on request after 3 months.
Priority for first roles
First pool Akaiin recruits from when the company begins hiring. You are co-builders of this movement.
Certificate of volunteerism
Signed personally by Maria Lourdes Malipol, CEO and Technical Founder, after 3 months. Citable in portfolios, job applications, and scholarship submissions.
Social media feature
You and your stories will be featured on Akaiin's social media, introducing you to the broader family caregiver community.
Your name on the stories
You are credited by name on every video you help make.
Get involved
How to apply
The process is straightforward. What matters most is that you believe in the people this movement is for.
Fill out the application form
Share your name, city, and which volunteer role you are applying for. We also want to know why you are here, in your own words.
Open the formApplication review
Selina personally reviews every application. We look at your social media presence and read your answers carefully. No experience required, only sincerity.
Receive your acceptance
If accepted, you will receive a confirmation with your batch details and the date of your Orientation Webinar.
Meet the Movement
You will have a welcome call with Selina where you get to know the history, the team, and what your role looks like. Think of it less as an orientation and more as a conversation.
Go out and listen
Your first field day is scheduled. You show up. You approach a stranger. You say: your story matters. Tell me. That is the Akay Movement.
"You are not a helper. You are not an assistant, or a marketing volunteer. You are the Akay Movement. Every interview you conduct is an act of advocacy. Every story you capture is a piece of history that would have been lost forever if you had not shown up."
Where we are
Coming to your country soon.
The Akay Movement started in the Philippines because that is where our story began. But the invisible, unpaid family caregiver is not just a Filipino reality. She is in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and every corner of Southeast Asia.
If you are based outside the Philippines and want to bring the Akay Movement to your country, we want to hear from you. We are open to founding chapter leads who are passionate about family caregiving and ready to build something meaningful in their community.
Interested in opening a chapter in your country? Message us at
hello@akaiin.com