GMA Kapuso Foundation (GMAKF), GMA Network’s socio-civic arm, received a historic grant from the Embassy of Japan (EOJ) for its ”Rebuild Marawi Project.”
In the signing ceremonies held at the Japanese embassy on March 22, GMAKF Executive Vice President and COO Rikki Escudero-Catibog and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda inked GMAKF’s first ever grant, which will fund the construction of a three-storey, seven-classroom school building in Datu Saber Elementary School in Marawi City. The grant was awarded under EOJ’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).
“The joy and opportunity that the ‘Rebuild Marawi Project’ gave to students and teachers inspired GMAKF to seek foreign funding to construct its third and most challenging school in Marawi City. This grant from Japan is a very big help for us because they will fund the entire construction of our first three-storey small space saving school building which stands on only 330 square meters. Datu Saber Elementary School is unique because despite the cramped space, its students garnered high scores in consecutive National Aptitude Tests,” said Escudero-Catibog.
“We are grateful to the Embassy of Japan for sharing the same dream of giving these children a chance to have a bright future through education,” she expressed.
Haneda, on the other hand, shared why the EOJ selected GMAKF as one of the recipients of the grant which is also a part of their Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-Bird). “We understand that Datu Saber School is a very good school. We hope that these children’s education is the key to the future and the development of this country. With the GMA [Kapuso Foundation] project, we thought that they would be very good vehicle to invest in the future. We are very glad to be of help to rehabilitate Marawi City.”
GMAKF’s ”Rebuild Marawi Project” aims to foster integral education by providing decent and functional classrooms with water distribution to cater to the needs of underserved students including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and teachers of public elementary schools. It also aims to provide a healthy educational environment to impoverished children including those who were displaced by the armed conflict.
The Datu Saber Elementary School will be the third Kapuso school that GMAKF is rebuilding in Marawi City following the successful inaugurations of Camp Bagong Amai Pakpak Elementary School in October 2018 and Pendolonan Elementary School in December 2018. GMAKF was the first institution to rebuild a school one year after the 2017 siege. The new school building of Datu Saber Elementary School is expected to be turned over to the Department of Education’s Marawi Schools District in December this year.
To donate to GMAKF’s projects, visit www.gmanetwork.com/kapusofoundation/donate.