As part of its continuing response to the Marawi crisis, the US Embassy in the Philippines has launched a P18.5 million #ForMindanao campaign supporting 37 projects throughout Mindanao led by Filipino alumni of US government-sponsored exchanges.
In a statement released on Thursday, the US Embassy said that the fresh monetary assistance will address educational enrichment, economic development, and the pyscho-social effects of conflict, among other pressing needs in the region.
“The US-Philippine Exchange Alumni has already played a crucial role in responding to humanitarian needs in Marawi and surrounding areas,” the embassy in Manila said.
The embassy said the #ForMindanao campaign will run for a year and will impact an estimated 13,500 Filipinos, composed of out-of-school youth, university students, madrasa students, and women in Mindanao.
Since 1948, the US government has sponsored people-to-people exchanges that have built the leadership and professional capacities of more than 8,000 Filipinos from across the nation.
Upon their return, many US exchange alumni collaborate with their fellow alumni and with the US Embassy to strengthen the bilateral relations between the United States and the Philippines.
Their immediate response to the Marawi crisis and their engagement in the U.S. Embassy’s #ForMindanao campaign exemplifies the commitment of U.S. exchange alumni to work together to advance the prosperity of all Filipinos.
Within hours of the outbreak of fighting in Marawi, U.S. exchange alumni were on the frontlines of the humanitarian response. Individual exchange alumni and U.S. exchange alumni chapters throughout the country contributed nearly P 2.2 million in food, hygiene kits and clothing that assisted more than 20,000 people affected by the crisis.
U.S. exchange alumni from universities around the country launched the #MealsforMarawi campaign, raising P85,000 to conduct Ramadan iftars that fed more than 3,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), while the U.S. alumni chapter in Davao, in partnership with the Rotary Club, delivered food, clothing, and basic medicine to nursing mothers in IDP camps.
The U.S. exchange alumni complemented their humanitarian efforts with psycho-social activities to support more than 7,500 IDPs affected by the crisis.
The Lanao del Sur Provincial Government awarded the U.S. alumni chapter in Marawi City for the success of their #MaraWe art therapy program that helped 817 IDP children in the city.
The U.S. Embassy’s #ForMindanao campaign builds upon these earlier programs by providing U.S. exchange alumni with ongoing opportunities to contribute to the recovery to the Marawi Crisis and the overall development of Mindanao.
In November 2017, the U.S. Embassy awarded more than P9.7 million to support 17 community-based projects led by U.S. exchange alumni, including agro-enterprise development; a roving toy library for IDP children; and Project YACAP (Youth Amplifying, Co-creating, and Advocating Peace), a youth-led peace advocacy initiative.
“Project YACAP was inspired by our experiences as volunteers in the evacuation centers and by our friends who have been affected by the siege. The project will bring youth into the conversation on peace and security in Mindanao,” the Philippines’ Youth Leadership Program alumna project leader Lynrose Genon, a high schopl student exchange in America for a month, said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. embassy also announced that the group, as part of the next phase for the #ForMindanao campaign, is accepting applicants from public school and madrasa teachers, as well as women’s cooperative leaders, for a P100,000 worth of training programs.
The embassy said that they will grant 15 Filipinos to help their schools and communities respond to local needs.
Additionally, the U.S. Embassy will support four alumni-led projects of P1 million each, addressing the root causes of conflict and violent extremism.
The grant competition is administered by Naawan HELPS, a U.S exchange alumni-led civil society organization based in northern Mindanao.
The embassy said alumni-led projects are just one part of the U.S. government’s response to the Marawi crisis.
To date, the U.S. government has announced over P1 billion for recovery and rehabilitation of Marawi and surrounding areas through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The U.S. government also funds extensive counter-terrorism, law enforcement, development, health, and countering violent extremism programs across Mindanao.