Turnover Ceremony for “The Project for the Renovation of Physical Therapy Center in Parañaque City” under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project (GGP)

On August 7, 2018, Dr. Takeo Okada, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Japan, attended the turnover ceremony for “The Project for the Renovation of Physical Therapy Center” in Parañaque City. The project was approved in Fiscal Year 2016 and is part of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). The ceremony was also attended by the Chairman and President Segismundo Gonzales and Executive Director Dayal Nandwani of Stepping Stone Foundation, and officials from the Makati Rotary Club.

In the Philippines, given the considerable number of children with disabilities, access to basic education and rehabilitation services for them are still limited. The beneficiary of the project, Stepping Stone Foundation, is an NGO which has been providing special education as well as rehabilitation services to people with disabilities coming from poor families so that they can become capable members of the society.  However, due to limited resources, Stepping Stone Foundation was unable to expand its physical therapy program services to its students/patients.

Through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), the Embassy of Japan provided assistance to Stepping Stone Foundation with a grant amounting to Forty-Four Thousand Nine Hundred Seventy US Dollars (US 44,970) or approximately 1.9 million pesos. The grant covered the renovation of the physical therapy center and provision of medical equipment for rehabilitation. This project aims to provide improved physical therapy programs to approximately 1,200 children with disabilities from Parañaque City and nearby areas. 

The Government of Japan, as the top ODA donor for the Philippines, launched the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects in the Philippines in 1989 for the purpose of reducing poverty and helping various communities engaged in grassroots activities. At present, 534 grassroots projects have been implemented by the GGP. Japan believes that this project will not only strengthen the friendship between the peoples of Japan and the Philippines but will also contribute in sustaining strategic partnership between the two countries.