Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya recently signed a USD321,273 (PHP18.92 million) grant contract for the project “Promoting Peace Education and Enhancing Learning Environment for Coexistence in Barangay Siguel” with the Japanese non-governmental organization ChildFund Japan.
Barangay Siguel is a rural area in General Santos City where residents of diverse backgrounds, including ethnic minorities and Muslims, coexist.
This project, under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, will replace dilapidated classrooms and install sanitation facilities at a public junior and senior high school, serving 1,577 students.
It will also promote peace and multicultural coexistence through education and training for students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, helping them develop mutual understanding and dialogue skills to overcome prejudice and discrimination.
Teachers will also receive training on teaching methods that support regional peace and intercultural understanding.
After the training, students will lead peer teaching, multicultural exchanges, and sports or recreational programs—a way seen by the Japanese government to contribute to peace and harmony in the community.
In the Philippines, the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects was initiated in 2002. Since then, the Government of Japan has so far awarded contracts for 69 projects in the Philippines under this scheme, amounting JPY2.092 billion (PHP780 million) in total.
Through these projects, Japan aims to further strengthen its friendship with the Philippines and bolster their existing strategic partnership.
