Press Office -
PR#65–2010, June 21, 2010 |
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Japanese NGO Completes Improvement of Educational Facilities in Mindanao |
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Minister Tomochika Uyama (fifth from left) led the ribbon cutting of the recently completed classroom buildings at Kakal Elementary School. Other guests who witnessed the ceremony were (left to right) DepEd-ARMM Paglat District Supervisor Mr . Abdulfatah Sulaiman, Hon. Vice Mayor Saidali Litigan of Paglat Municipality, Ms. Kiyoko Takahashi, Program Officer of Oxfam-Japan, Mr. Omar Pinondok School Principal of Kakal Elementary School, Engr. Mangoda Hadji Usop, Paglat Planning and Development Coordinator, Brgy. Captain Gulidtem Ali and First Secretary Tomonori Kikuchi, Japanese Government's Socio-Development Expert dispatched to the International Monitoring Team. |
Photo shows Minister Tomochika Uyama (third from right) together with Vice-Mayor Litigan, Oxfam staff and other guests after the Turn-Over Ceremony of the Strengthening Schools and Community Structures as Focal Points for Community Reconstruction and Conflict Reduction Project at Kakal Elementary School held on 18 June 2010. |
Minister for Economic Affairs Tomochika Uyama attended the ceremony marking the completion of the educational facilities by Oxfam Japan under the Strengthening Schools and Community Structures as Focal Points for Community Reconstruction and Conflict Reduction Project at the Kakal Elementary School in Paglat, Maguindanao on June 18 2010. This project was funded through the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, a small-grant funding program of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA), amounting to 124,763 US dollars (approximately 5.8 million pesos). This is the first project implemented by a Japanese NGO under the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD), which was launched in December 2006 as part of the Government of Japan's commitment to support peace and development efforts in Mindanao.
Under this project, three (3) school buildings with six (6) classrooms have been constructed for the Kakal Elementary School in Paglat, Maguindanao, furnished with 300 desks and chairs. The project also included trainings for the parents, teachers and community associations (PTCA) of the Kakal Elementary School and Salam Elementary School that aimed at empowering the capacity of the associations in terms of advocacy and fund-raising. Through the training, they learnt how to effectively communicate to related government agencies such as the Municipal Government of Paglat and the Department of Education, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM) for improvement of the schools' educational environment.
Minister Uyama said in this speech, “I would like to encourage students to study harder under the improved learning environment and, in the future, contribute to the development of this region. ”He also said, “I hope the PTCA will make the most of the outcome of the training and work together for children.”
The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects started in the Philippines in 2002. As of May 2010, the Government of Japan has disbursed about 260 m illion Japanese Yen (approximately 130 million pesos ) for a total of 22 projects in the Philippines.
Speech of Minister Tomochika Uyama
Japanese Version
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