Australian Aid, The Asia Foundation to donate 6,000 books to schools in Philippines

A Filipino girl whose parents are both scavengers looks from behind a cardboard box containing books from The Asia Foundation in this photo taken in a village called Lumbangan in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. The village is where the government garbage dump is located. Many children abandon schooling to help their parents scavenge for food and junk in Zamboanga City. The poor children – for the first time in their life – is now able to own a book donated by The Asia Foundation and browse the colorful pages themselves – and perhaps dream that one day they can go back to school and continue their studies. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SARANGANI (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 11, 2013) – The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program, with support from Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), will distribute a total of 6,000 brand new books to all public elementary schools in the remote towns of Malungon in Sarangani province in Mindanao and Daraga in Albay province in Luzon.

AusAID, through the Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP), has supported literacy projects for out-of-school youths in the two municipalities. PACAP is the Australian Government’s long-running program that provides small grants assistance to poor communities throughout the Philippines.

The Books for Asia program distributes free books and supplementary reading materials to schools nationwide as a continuing commitment to promote education and literacy in the country.

“Australia’s support reflects our commitment to help Filipino children have access to quality education. Australia and the Philippines share the belief that education is a way for people to overcome poverty. We hope that more children will be encouraged to stay, participate more and learn better in school,” Geoff King, AusAID Counsellor, said in a statement released to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

Dr. Steven Rood, Asia Foundation’s Country Representative, said they appreciate the partnerships demonstrated in AusAID’s long-running PACAP.

“We are proud to manage this program for AusAID, and are encouraged by the partnerships we see among local organizations, the communities, and local governments. As we continue to pursue development in communities throughout the Philippines, we need to emphasize on the improvement of education of our younger generation. Our schoolchildren must be enabled to become thinking individuals so that they could become a driving force in our efforts for peace and progress. This is where books are vital to allowing students to learn about the wider world.”

“Our successful effort will come a long way as we try to bring books even in the remotest schools in the country. We are thankful to AusAID in supporting the Books for Asia program. The Asia Foundation is also grateful to McGraw Hill companies for generous donations of brand new books to our program,” Rood said in the same statement.

But Rood and King did not say when they would distribute the books in the two areas.