Bangsamoro women benefit from J-Bird

Today, Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura will lead the turnover ceremony of the newly constructed skills training center for Bangsamoro women under the Japan-Bangsamoro initiatives for Reconstruction and Development, (J-BIRD), which was launched in December 2006, as part of Japan’s commitment to support peace and development efforts in Mindanao.

This project is funded through the embassy of Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP). The project, located in Barangay Simuay, in the Municipality of Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan province, is meant to directly benefit the Bangsamoro women at the grassroots level through vocational training.

The ceremony is expected to be witnessed by major stakeholders in the Mindanao peace process, led by the representative from the International Monitoring Team (IMT) based in Cotabato City; GRP and MILF Coordinating Committees on Cessation of Hostilities; Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), ARMM Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Local Government Officials.

The newly constructed skills training center completed with training equipment will initially benefit 400 Bangsamoro women per year. Ultimately, the beneficiaries will acquire new skills to improve and augment their family income. In that way, this facility enables them to experience the “dividends of peace.”

The construction of this skills training center forms part of the 12 grassroots projects committed under the J-BIRD last December.