Dear Friends,
In all geographic regions of the Philippines, lingering post-pandemic physical and mental health traumas have taken a considerable toll. In addition, natural calamities and ineffective governance have intensified food shortages. Rising prices are putting pressure on basic necessities in local communities.
Since the New Year, 2023 our programs have assisted more than 20,000 children and young adults in hard-to-reach villages and tribal areas in the regions of Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas. Asia America Initiative and our local grassroots partners and industrious volunteers are committed to conducting relief operations in multiple rural communities, emphasizing good nutrition and hygiene practices. We have upgraded training programs for teachers in livelihood development and remedial educational in the schools we sponsor.
"Electricity is scarce and internet connection is unreliable," says Principal Hannah in Muslim Mindanao. "When children cannot attend school, they are denied face to face classroom learning," adds Nurse Faith, AAI coordinator in the Christian Visayas region. To address barriers to social and economic development, Asia America Initiative continues to provide hygiene and medical supplies to school age children, teachers, and volunteers. In addition, we have been supporting and supplying Reading and Math outdoor learning camps in dozens of schools, including for mountainous tribes.
Dr. Yolanda our volunteer groups coordinator says, "Children and their parents are invigorated through literacy, livelihood skills, and health support programs and special events. We are determined to continue to facilitate these programs through non-biased school communities."
New psychology programs at colleges like Notre Dame of Jolo have addressed the emotional and learning disability impact of pandemic-related school closures. "These new counseling programs have created a dramatic improvement in under-served communities where extreme poverty and communal violence are rampant," says Professor Zhea at Notre Dame of Jolo College campus.
Thanks to our GlobalGiving donors and local parents, Returned Overseas Workers volunteers and police and military veterans, we are continuing to make a substantial difference in the communities.
Mothers and fathers of pupils assist teachers to cook daily meals. Inter-faith cooperation teaches students the value of teamwork and unity. AAI provides face masks, basic food, clean water, and other hygiene products. Principal Nash reminds us, "It's the parents, teachers, and school children who provide the energy needed for us to succeed."
If you would like to add to your support or begin a monthly donation, please click through this report and GlobalGiving will instruct you in how you can assist in this worthwhile endeavor.
Unite Inter-Faith Children via Education and Water
Your contributions have made a true difference. We are deeply grateful to you all.
Sincerely,
Albert Santoli,
AAI Director
Links:
Dear Friends,
In the impoverished community of Indanan on Jolo island in the Philippines, Sharifa, a former Asia America Initiative volunteer is now a full-time 5th grade teacher. She learned from visiting AAI partner schools in Cuartero province, 400 kilometers to the north, the power of community school gardens. With the support of her school head, fellow teachers and parent-volunteers, she has revitalized a lunch program and school garden as part of of AAI's "One School -- One Family" health and nutrition program for malnourished children.
Sharifa says, " For some of our school children the only full meal they have each day is at school. Our pupils really love soup. For every feeding, I make two large casseroles of soup for our 280+ pupils."
This AAI "One School -- One Family" program assists up to 20,000 children in elementary schools in Sulu and Visayas. They are overcoming extreme poverty and communal violence through integrated literacy, livelihood skills, and health support. We have created a social media network for Muslim and Christian educators and children to share their new skills, hopes, and dreams. Mothers and grandmothers of pupils assist teachers to cook daily meals. In addition, as schools reopen after the global pandemic, AAI teams provides thousands of donated books, school supplies, garden tools, and clean water systems to help sustain this network of schools to make a difference.
Teacher Sharifa had a special request from her pupils after they tried boxed corn muffin mix for the first time and loved it. "After our semester exams," she suggested, "maybe AAI can add in your packages some chocolate powder, cupcakes mix, some colorful sprinkles etc. so that occasionally, we can give the pupils cupcakes?? We don't have an oven but we have learned how to steam the muffins or cupcakes. They are moist and taste delicious!"
We replied, "Okay, Teacher Sharifa. Cupcake mix on the way... with sprinkles!"
The long-term impact of this joyful program empowers Christian and Muslim communities to learn from each other through their respective best practices and recipes. Asia America Initiative serves as a communication bridge for peace action. Schools provide positive interaction and equal treatment of various cultural groups. AAI volunteers, teachers, and especially school leadership facilitate mutual respect and inspiration for the students to be able to overcome the many obstacles caused by poverty and communal violence to improve their lives.
If you would like to add to your support or become a monthly sponsor, please click the link below to assist in this worthwhile endeavor.
Unite Inter-Faith Children via Education and Water
Wishing you peace,
Albert Santoli,
Director, Asia America Initiative
Links:
In the Philippines, as in most of world, returning to school after two years of lockdown from the Covid19 Pandemic, has been difficult. Many children and high school/college youths have suffered from depression and have had difficulty focusing on their studies due to isolation and long periods of separation from their teachers and classmates.
As a result, depression, drug use, bullying, and academic failure have become endemic regardless of local cultural norms or the socio/economic stature of communities. In order to address these challenges, Asia America Initiative has partnered with educators at elementary and secondary schools we support to create caring and dynamic counseling at the institutional and peer group levels.
In Mindano, religious conflict and natural disasters have caused suffering for millions of Filipino children. Our counseling program empowers school children and college students who are often the victims, to become enthusiastic partners in their mutual healing. Interfaith and joyful education programs teach students the value of cooperation and diversity. We provide books, school supplies, clean water, and hygiene supplies for at least 20,000 children in the Sulu and Visayas regions.
"Our psychology students created an open-acess Freedom Wall on campus," says Professor Zhea who is Coordinator of the new Psychology program at Notre Dame of Jolo. "The openness and friendly communication between the students allowed our classes to begin with a positive attitude. It's the feeling of acceptance and to express some of one's anxieties and fears that can make a tremedous difference in their academic performance and as human beings."
Students in the region are overcoming extreme poverty and communal violence through integrated literacy, livelihood skills, and health support. We have created a social media network for Muslim and Christian educators and children to share their new skills, hopes, and dreams. Mothers and fathers of pupils assist teachers to cook daily meals. We provide thousands of books and school supplies in addition to garden tools, packs of seeds and clean water systems.
The long-term positive impact of this program empowers Christian and Muslim communities to learn from each other through their respective best practices. Asia America Initiative serves as a communication bridge for action, dispelling fear and myths that alienate children, families and villages who feel alone and abandoned. Starting in schools, positive interaction, and equal treatment of various cultural groups by AAI facilitate mutual respect and inspiration.
If you would like to add to your support or begin a monthly donation, please click the link below to assist in this worthwhile endeavor.
Unite Inter-Faith Children via Education and Water
Wishing you peace,
Albert Santoli,
Director, Asia America Initiative
Links:
Dear Friends,
In July 2022, Asia America Initiative co-sponsored and contributed substantial reading materials and classroom supplies for a regional model Summer Reading Camp. This program attracted some 500 elementary school aged children and 100 teachers from more than 50 public schools in the Sulu archipelago of Muslim Mindanao, Philippines. In August, children are going back into the classroom for face to face learning sessions after more than two years of quarantine and isolation. The enthusiasm and inspiration of the resulting teamwork gained from the workshops and peer learning sessions were greater than we could have expected.
In the Philippines, Covid-19 caused the closing of hundreds of public and private schools and they have only partially reopened on a limited basis. The resulting social isolation, peer pressures and inconsistent contact with teachers are causing a lack of confidence in students and difficulty in focusing on studies. This has been the situation in most of the world. In areas already facing poverty and instability, the lack of participation has caused many children and their families to give up on education. In addition, the rise in the prices of food, gasoline and other essential basic human needs has created community-wide desperation.
In Mindanao, student attendance has been cut in half, as many youths are having to work for pennies per day to help support their families. The AAI extended teams of principals, teachers, and volunteers know that the best place for the students’ long-term well-being and success is to stay in school. However, the lockdowns and survival challenges have created difficulty for the families to decide now versus later.
We were very pleased when our advisor, Principal Merhama volunteered her school to spearhead the Summer Reading Camp. She felt very strongly that if they could persuade parents to have their children to attend, it could spark a real turnaround in convincing children and their families to engage. She was right! Not only did students from her school attend, but so did neighboring schools and pupils and teachers from neighboring districts. Other schools on nearby islands heard about the program for province education administrators. Parents and teachers boarded ferry boats and brought children to participate in the week-long reading camp. In all, 500 students of all ages attended!
In the Philippines, intensive poverty, social conflicts and natural disasters have caused suffering for millions of Filipino children. This program empowers elementary school children who are the most vulnerable victims. Education, regardless of a family’s religious faith, teaches students the value of cooperation and diversity. AAI, as the only consistently present international NGO in Sulu has pledged to continue providing books, school supplies, clean water, and hygiene supplies. In response to the Covid-19 crisis, we are also providing PPEs, hand-wash supplies, school gardens and nutritional programs for more than 20,000 children.
If you would like to add to your support or begin a monthly donation, please click the link below and GlobalGiving will prepare that for you to assist in this worthwhile endeavor.
Unite Inter-Faith Children via Education and Water
Wishing you peace,
Albert Santoli,
Director, Asia America Initiative
Links:
Dear Friends of AAI,
Students are finally returning to the classroom in the Philippines with careful measures against Covid19 in place. AAI has been sponsoring the Mentoring and Meals program for the teachers to meet in person on a small scale with the students to make sure they are keeping up with their studies and offering guidance and a meal by parent volunteers.
In the Philippines, religious conflict and natural disasters have caused suffering for millions of Filipino children. This program empowers elementary school children who are the victims. Inter-faith education teaches students the value of cooperation and diversity. We provide books, school supplies, clean water, hygiene supplies, and PPEs.
This program assists 20,000 children in elementary schools in Sulu and Visayas. They are overcoming extreme poverty and communal violence through integrated literacy, livelihood skills, and health support. We have created a social media network for Muslim and Christian educators and children to share their new skills, hopes, and dreams. Mothers and fathers of pupils assist teachers to cook daily meals. We provide thousands of books, school supplies, garden tools, and freshwater systems.
AAI donor shipments have been arriving filled with cereal, books, hygiene, and school supplies. The happy faces of the students are such a reward after the long period of separation from their classmates.
Thank you for supporting our wonderful project! If you would like to add to your contribution, please click through this report. You may also be interested in a smaller monthly donation to help support the students as they return to the classroom. Through April 8th, make a donation up to $50 and receive a 50% match from GlobalGiving!
Unite Inter-Faith Children via Education and Water
Wishing you peace,
Albert Santoli,
Director
Asia America Initiative
Links:
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