ARTS AND EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Group of children and adults posing for a photo outside a school building, holding a sign that says 'Early Registration,' with some children sitting on the ground in front.

Unite Inter-Faith Children via Education and Safe Schools

In the Philippines, religious conflict and natural disasters have caused suffering for millions of Filipino children. The country has around 50 million school aged children between 5 and 15 years old.  UNICEF estimates that 2.85 million girls and boys aged 5-21 years are out of school, and 8 in 10 children experience some form of local crime violence or civil war, and daily physical, psychological, sexual or online abuse.

Two performers on stage, one woman sitting on a rock-like block wearing a jacket, cap, and sneakers, the other man playing guitar seated on a similar block, wearing a green jacket, gray beanie, and beige pants, with a backpack beside him.

This program promotes peace in inter-faith communities through schools that ingrain the value of cooperation and equal opportunity. We provide books, chairs and tables, school supplies, and hygiene facilities.  Each semester we provide nutrition programs for more than 50,000 children per week across the 7,000 island nation.

This program materially assists 30,000 children in 60 elementary schools in Sulu and Visayas. They are overcoming extreme poverty and communal violence through integrated literacy, livelihood skills, and health support. Mothers and fathers of pupils assist teachers to cook daily nutritious meals. We provide thousands of books, school supplies, garden tools, and fresh water systems.

Group of students and teachers posing for a photo during a school event at an outdoor stage decorated with colorful banners that reads '3rd Quarter Honors'. The students are holding certificates, and some teachers are sitting in front, all smiling.

Another significant benefit of this program is the inclusion of out of school youth and adults to earn a high school diploma and receive vocational training. After a half-century of war and civil conflict most students ended school in 5th or 6th grade. The supplemental training enhances their livelihood opportunity to become role models for their children.

Group of children sitting outdoors, some smiling and laughing, holding notebooks and pencils, with a bamboo structure overhead, in a rural setting, with a timestamp of November 12, 2021, at 10:12.

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. Our social media facilitates transparent communication and dispels fear and myths that alienate communities who feel alone and abandoned. Starting in schools, positive interaction, and equal treatment of various cultural groups by AAI facilitates mutual respect and inspiration necessary for peace and development.