ALABEL, Sarangani (September 27, 2010) – Southern Philippines Power Corporation human resource manager and town councilor Joel Aton gives his word of support for Sarangani education at the launching ceremony of Education Revolution “Karunungan Kontra Kahirapan” Monday, September 27, at Alabel Central Elementary School. Private sector entities joining the Education Revolution were UnionBank’s Educational Learning System “As A Filipino” Reading Program (workbooks for Grade II), Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), Synergeia Foundation, Alcantara Foundation (AF), Conal Holdings Corporation, Finfish Hatchery, Inc., Southern Philippines Power Corporation (SSPC), Philippine Army’s 1002nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade and 73rd Infantry Battalion. (Cocoy Sexcion/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)

ALABEL, Sarangani (September 27, 2010) – Soldiers take their time outside a military vehicle at the launching ceremony of Education Revolution “Karunungan Kontra Kahirapan” Monday, September 27, at Alabel Central Elementary School. (Cocoy Sexcion/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)

ALABEL, Sarangani (September 27, 2010) – Wearing their green armband and shouting “Karunungan Kontra Kahirapan” in unison, these kids are among the recipients of the 37,570 workbooks to complete the 1:1 of pupil-workbook ratio as the province launches Education Revolution “Karunungan Kontra Kahirapan” Monday, September 27, at Alabel Central Elementary School. (Cocoy Sexcion/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)

ALABEL, Sarangani (September 27, 2010) – Wearing their green “Karunungan Kontra Kahirapan” armband, officials led by Governor Migs Dominguez, Vice Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon, and Lt. Col. Edgardo De Leon show excitement as they get ready for a short parade at the launching ceremony of the Education Revolution “Karunungan Kontra Kahirapan” Monday, September 27, at Alabel Central Elementary School. Four military vehicles carried 37,570 workbooks for distribution to Sarangani’s Grade I and Grade II pupils within the next three days . (Cocoy Sexcion/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)

On September 13, 2010, Alonzo Fulgham (far right), Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C.; Gloria Steele (center), USAID/Philippines Mission Director; and Jesus Dureza (far left), outgoing chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), view the project marker during the turn-over of the Bajunaid Barangay Bridge to the residents of Brgy. Poblacion in Tupi, South Cotabato. Also in photo are Robert Barnes (2nd from right), USAID Economic Growth Advisor; and Joselito Yabut, Poblacion Barangay Chairman. The barangay bridge was built by USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program in partnership with the Tupi municipal government, which provided a 25-percent counterpart contribution to the project. The structure helps to make transport safer and more efficient for about 12,000 farmers and other residents in the community. To date, USAID has constructed more than 1,200 infrastructure projects in some 193 municipalities and cities in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. USAID’s GEM Program is being implemented under the oversight of MinDA. USAID/GEM Program

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Two barangay bridges funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) were inaugurated this week in provinces adjacent to this city, the agricultural hub of southern Mindanao.

The new bridges—one in Sitio Biao, in the municipality of Malapatan, Sarangani, and the other, the Bajunaid Barangay Bridge, in Tupi, South Cotabato—were built in partnership with the municipal governments by USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, through its Barangay Infrastructure Project (BIP).

The bridges were turned over to residents by Alonzo Fulgham, Chief Operating Officer of USAID in Washington, D.C., and Gloria Steele, USAID/Philippines Mission Director, at ceremonies with Sarangani Governor Miguel Dominguez, the outgoing chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), Jesus Dureza, and other officials.

“The United States looks forward to our continued friendship and cooperation in our efforts to facilitate economic development and poverty alleviation, and help create conditions for peace in Mindanao,” said Fulgham, who previously served as Mission Direct to Afghanistan, managing the U.S. government’s second largest development and nation-building program in the world.

“These efforts will bring tremendous rewards to both of our nations,” he added.

The building of a BIP project is always a partnership between the GEM Program and the beneficiary community, which provides at least a 25-percent counterpart contribution, including a significant portion of “hard” counterpart contributions, such as construction materials.

Speaking with journalists, Fulgham praised Mindanao local government units and said that their project collaboration served as a “model for development.”

Alonzo Fulgham (far right), Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C., and Gloria Steele (center), USAID/Philippines Mission Director, are welcomed by Fely Tindugan (left), municipal treasurer of Malapatan, Sarangani on September 14, 2010, who thanked them for the Biao Barangay Bridge built by USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program in partnership with the municipal government, which provided a 25-percent counterpart contribution to the project. The barangay bridge benefits about 12,000 farmers and other residents in the community. To date, USAID has constructed more than 1,200 infrastructure projects in some 193 municipalities and cities in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, under the oversight of the Mindanao Development Authority. USAID/GEM Program

“This is the only country that I’ve been in that the participation of the local government is at the level that it’s at. Where they’re coming up with a 25 percent contribution to the projects and making sure that they’re done in a timely fashion,” said Fulgham.

At the Malapatan turn-over, Governor Dominguez pointed out that local governments and USAID have worked to build trust between different cultures, “protecting the peace that we have all worked so hard for.”

The USAID barangay bridges will benefit approximately 12,000 farmers and other residents in each of the two communities, as well as in neighboring areas.

The bridges are single-barrel, reinforced concrete box culverts designed to drain the run-off water that used to hold up traffic. They are helping to make transport more efficient, encourage more economic activity and prevent further damage to the road.

Previously, during heavy rainfall, water would overflow the roadway and often cut off traffic. This cost local farmers time and money, either because they would have to pay for the double-handing of their produce, or because the produce would spoil before it could be delivered to market.

According to a 2009 guide on economic growth published by USAID, a key activity for development agencies in the post-conflict period is to “reduce physical obstacles and eliminate barriers to movement and commerce, particularly for rural and agricultural markets.”

With local partners, USAID’s GEM Program has constructed more than 1,200 infrastructure projects in some 193 municipalities and cities in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. It is expected to build about 500 more over the next few years, under the oversight of MinDA.

GEM’s BIP projects range from boat landings, bridges and footbridges, water systems, and solar dryers, to trading centers and road renovations and upgrades, depending on the needs of a community’s residents.

On September 13, 2010, Alonzo Fulgham (far right), Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C., looks on as Gloria Steele, USAID/Philippines Mission Director, presents a certificate of project completion to Tupi Mayor Reynaldo Tamayo (2nd from left) at the turn-over of the Bajunaid Barangay Bridge to the residents of Brgy. Poblacion, in Tupi, South Cotabato. With them is Rudy Jimenea (far left), representing the South Cotabato provincial government. The barangay bridge, built by USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program in partnership with the Tupi municipal government, which provided a 25-percent counterpart contribution to the project, benefits about 12,000 farmers and other residents in the community. To date, the USAID has constructed more than 1,200 infrastructure projects in some 193 municipalities and cities in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. USAID’s GEM Program is being implemented under the oversight of the Mindanao Development Authority. USAID/GEM Program

These community-level projects are complemented by larger, higher-impact infrastructure projects, for example the upgrading of the airport runways in Jolo, Sulu, and Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

The runway upgrades helped lead to the establishment by Airphil Express of new flight routes this week between these two provincial capitals and Zamboanga City, greatly improving passenger transport within the Sulu Archipelago.

The GEM Program’s infrastructure projects are complemented by its “softer” components, which include reintegrating former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front, increasing domestic out-shipments and exports of targeted agricultural commodities, attracting investment in new industries in order to create jobs, and assisting local governments to improve governance.

Residents in many municipalities where BIP projects are located—Malapatan and Tupi among them—have been provided with training in agricultural production and marketing by GEM, which works with growers’ associations and local chambers of commerce to strengthen business activities in their areas of operation.

The GEM Program is also helping to prepare Mindanao’s future workforce by equipping college students with the English proficiency skills needed to compete in key industries, providing internet-connected computers to schools, and involving parent-teacher associations in improving local education services. GEM