US Embassy Supports Rehab Projects in Mindanao

The US Embassy in Manila has launched an P18.5 million to support projects in Mindanao including Marawi, the site of a five-month battle between government forces and ISIS-inspired terrorists. The campaign is expected to benefit 13,500 people, mostly out-of-school youth, university students, madrasa students, and women in Mindanao.

The projects will focus on educational enrichment, economic development, and the psycho-social effects of conflict, among other pressing needs in the region. The campaign was led by Philippine alumni of US government-sponsored exchanges.

 “U.S. exchange alumni from universities around the country launched the Meals for Marawi campaign, raising P85,000 to conduct Ramadan iftars that fed more than 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), while the U.S. alumni chapter in Davao, in partnership with the Rotary Club, delivered food, clothing, and basic medicine to nursing mothers in IDP camps,” the embassy added.

In the next phase of the For Mindanao campaign, public school and madrasa teachers, as well as women’s cooperative leaders who have participated in U.S.-government training programs, can apply for fifteen P100,000 For Mindanao grants to help their schools and communities respond to local needs, it added.

Source: globalnation.inquirer.net

The embassy will also support four alumni-led projects of P1 million each, addressing the root causes of conflict and violent extremism.