COTABATO CITY, Philippines - — The education department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao gave assurance to complement World Bank’s school projects in Sulu with interventions needed to hasten the delivery of quality education to the island’s Tausog and Samah school children.
Lawyer Jamar Kulayan, regional secretary of ARMM’s Department of Education, said among the many projects of World Bank in the island province that fascinated him most is a school building with an adjoining stage in Barangay Manilop in Indanan town.
The facilities, launched early this year, are now being used by children and their parents for various activities, including peace dialogues.
Residents of Barangay Manilop are known for their active involvement in traditional peace-building dialogues. They held their meetings in an open field without a structure which speakers can use in presiding over discussions on peace and security issues besetting the local community.
The school building, constructed the “bayanihan†style by villagers, also has a latrine, according to the government-accredited People’s Organization in Barangay Manilop.
The school building and stage projects were implemented through the cooperation of Manilop barangay folks and the ARMM Social Fund Project, the conduit of World Bank for its socio-economic projects in the autonomous region.