West Pantar, Marawi City – Last August 8, 2017, SMI President & CEO Dr. Irene Floro together with her staff, along with TESDA Regional Director Lorenzo Macapili and Provincial Director Tarhata Mapandi, has joined forces in the distribution of the tools and equipment for 78 IDP’s and community beneficiaries who are displaced due to the fighting inside the City of Marawi. As government soldiers fight against Maute rebels, Skills Mastery Institute team gears toward the fight against poverty, hunger, and psycho-social trauma caused by war.
The Organic Agriculture training is the first private led Skills Training for the Internally Displaced Persons. During the opening ceremony, the Brgy. Chairman of West Pantar was teary-eyed while giving his thanksgiving message for he saw the whole team in full force-government and private sector, giving out their time and effort to travel all the way to their area, not only giving agricultural materials but most importantly Hope to all the IDP’s and community beneficiaries.
The training will run for 22 days where the IDP’s will plant vegetables for cash crops, turmeric & other indigenous plants in their 50 hectares Communal Farm that has been identified by the barangay. All the IDP’s and community beneficiaries will also be receiving free meals & snacks for 22 days aside from communal farm training tools and equipment that SMI has provided.
The IDP’s and Community beneficiaries are also excited to display all their produce in their “Bagsakan Center” that the barangay has also provided for them, and of course, what better way to end their training with all their effort and hard work but to pass the assessment exam and have the Organic Farmer NCII certification.
The training for work scholarship program is funded through the initiative of Senator Joel Villanueva, as assistance to the Marawi evacuees. The project is in close partnership with TESDA through the leadership of Secretary Guiling Mamondiong, in collaboration with the Barangay of West Pantar Home-Based Evacuation Center.
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