Bangsamoro women to benefit from training center

Hundreds of Bangsamoro women are expected to benefit from the newly constructed skills training center financed by the Japanese government in Shariff Kabunsuan province of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao.

The training center is part of the 12 grassroots projects committed under the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD).

Launched last Dec. 2006, the J-BIRD is Japan's commitment to support peace and stability in the southern Philippines.

Funded through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), the training center is "meant to directly benefit the Bangsamoro women at the grassroots level through vocational training," the Japanese embassy said.

The center, which houses training equipment, will initially benefit 400 Bangsamoro women per year.

The project is located in Barangay Simuay in the Municipality of Sultan, Shariff Kabunsuan province.

"Ultimately, the beneficiaries will acquire new skills to improve and augment their family income. In that way, this facility will enable them to experience the dividends of peace," the embassy said.

Among those who are expected to attend today's ceremony are local government officials, representatives from the International Monitoring Team (IMT) based in Cotabato City; Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and MILF Coordinating Committees on Cessation of Hostilities; Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA); ARMM Department of Science and Technology (DoST), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).