From the Philippines: Furthering Education Opportunities in the South
At separate ceremonies held in Koronadal City on March 6th and in General Santos City on March 7th, a total of 20,000 children’s books and reference materials were presented to 560 schools across the province of South Cotabato and the city of General Santos. The donations are part of The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program. The distribution of the books in Mindanao was made possible through the Foundation’s Transparent Accountable Governance (TAG) project with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The provision of books and other educational resources serves as a joint commitment in the campaign for education among communities in South Cotabato and General Santos. The Foundation shares the goals of local communities in Mindanao who have taken the lead in improving quality education in their areas. Asia Foundation officials were joined at the turnovers in Koronadal City by Mayor Fernando Q. Miguel and South Cotabato Provincial Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes, and in General Santos City by Mayor Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. and Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio.
The Asia Foundation acknowledges the unrelenting support of public and private partners in this endeavor; namely; the City Governments of Koronadal City and General Santos City for encouraging activities that promote education and literacy, Aboitiz2go (which helped shipped the books), the U.S. publishers that supplied the donated books, and USAID for generously supporting the Books for Asia’s special focus on Mindanao.
Since 1954, Books for Asia, the Foundation’s longest-running program, has been committed to the belief that knowledge and education are critical for Asian nations to advance their citizens and societies. Books for Asia puts nearly one million up-to-date books and resources of the highest quality into the hands of students, teachers, and librarians in 17 Asian countries each year.