[Press Release] USAID and The Asia Foundation donated 28,000 Books in Southern PHILIPPINES

July 28, 2011

5–8 minutes

Asia, Asia Foundation, AsiaBooks, Mindanao, Philippine, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, United States

(25 July 2011) – The Asia Foundation (TAF), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), launched on July 19 a series of five book distribution events in the provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and in the cities of General Santos and Tacurong in Southern Philippines. The donations were made by TAF’s Books for Asia’s program and distributed in Mindanao through the Transparent Accountable Governance (TAG) project, a partnership between USAID and TAF.

In each separate book distribution ceremony, TAF and USAID donated brand new educational materials to public elementary and secondary schools and colleges as a continuing commitment to promote education and literacy in Mindanao. Boxes of reference materials were distributed to public libraries in host provinces, municipalities and cities; and partner non-government organizations (NGOs) of TAF.

Provincial and city government officials, regional officials of the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, and representatives of the recipient schools, colleges, universities and NGOs graced the events.

Mission Director Gloria D. Steele affirmed USAID’s assistance to improve the quality of education in Mindanao. “We are proud to work with TAF in providing textbooks and other learning materials to Mindanao public schools. We believe that enhancing the quality of education, especially basic education in remote and conflict-affected areas, is an investment not only in the brighter future of Mindanao youth, but also in peace and development in the region,” Director Steele noted. USAID’s education program is providing over two million textbooks and other learning materials to elementary school students and out-of-school youth in remote communities in Mindanao.

According to The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative, Dr. Steven Rood, “As we strive for a peaceful, democratic, just, and prosperous Philippines, a key emphasis is to address education. Schoolchildren have to be enabled to become thinking individuals so that they could become a driving force in efforts for peace and progress. Education is central to this process, and books are vital to allowing students to learn about the wider world.”

Ms. Michelle Ann J. Jaboneta, Sanguniang Kabataan Federation President of South Cotabato, responded that, “It would be a great leap forward for our young learners that would really benefit this donation, thus they would be equipped with more knowledge and skills through reading. Reading plays an important role in molding the minds of our future leaders.”

The donation of books was done in collaboration with provincial and city governments, and private partners, and is intended to enhance the school libraries and communities as part of a wider effort throughout Southern Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines. For more than 56 years, The Asia Foundation has supported local communities to improve education for students.

For his part, Books for Asia Director, Mr. Efren Balajadia explained that the Foundation’s Books for Asia activities will continue throughout the Philippines, especially in Mindanao. He said, “We are trying to reach all communities in the country to bring the books – even to the remotest schools. We are thankful to American publishers like Pearson Education and McGraw Hill companies for generous donations of brand new books to our program.”

Partnership with the public and private sector

The Asia Foundation acknowledges the unrelenting support of partners in this endeavor; namely; the Provincial governments of Sarangani, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, and the City Governments of General Santos and Tacurong for encouraging activities that promote education and literacy, and USAID for generously supporting the Books for Asia’s special focus on Mindanao.

Books for Asia

Books for Asia is a well-known program of the Asia Foundation that regularly distributes books and other reading materials for all educational levels in over 15 countries. Since it was started in September 1954, The Books for Asia program has distributed more than 40 million books and journals to more than 50,000 academic and non-academic institutions throughout Asia. The Philippines alone has been a recipient of 14 million books and journals to public and private institutions across the country. More than 95 percent of Books for Asia’s donations are new textbooks, donated by U.S. publishers.

The reading materials range from the elementary level to professional level, covering such fields as government, business, health, environment, information technology, social science, and international relations. Books for Asia has made a significant contribution to education here in the Philippines especially since resources for instructional tools and facilities are scarce. All educational levels have benefited from this program. Basic textbooks and supplementary reading materials have been donated to schools throughout the country. NGOs are also recipients of valuable resource materials from Books for Asia.

For more information about the Books for Asia in the Philippines, you may visit http://www.asiafoundation.org/Locations/philippines_booksforasia.html

Transparent Accountable Governance

The Transparent Accountable Governance (TAG) Project is a partnership between TAF and USAID that aims to enhance local government capacity in the areas of fiscal performance, transparency and accountability and public service delivery. TAG engages the business community and civil society in implementing reforms to advance local governance in Mindanao. For more information on the TAG project, you may visit www.tag.org.ph.

The U.S. Agency for International Development

USAID is a U.S. Government agency responsible for implementing international development and humanitarian assistance programs in approximately 100 countries. USAID’s programs in the Philippines focus on promoting good governance, increasing economic opportunities, protecting the environment, strengthening health services, and increasing access to improved education. This year marks USAID’s 50^th anniversary of involvement in development programs in the Philippines. For more information about USAID’s work in the Philippines, visit http://philippines.usaid.gov.

The Asia Foundation

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region. The Foundation supports Asian initiatives to improve governance, law, and civil society; women’s empowerment; economic reform and development; sustainable development and the environment; and international relations. Drawing on nearly 60 years of experience in Asia, the Foundation collaborates with private and public partners to support leadership and institutional development, exchanges, and policy research.

With 18 offices throughout Asia, an office in Washington, DC, and its headquarters in San Francisco, the Foundation addresses these issues on both a country and regional level. In 2010, the Foundation provided more than $98 million in program support and distributed nearly one million books and journals valued at over $42 million. For more information about The Asia Foundation, visit www.asiafoundation.org.

Contact:

Dr. Steven Rood

Country Representative, The Asia Foundation

(63)(2) 851-1466

srood@asiafound.org.ph