The young people in Mindanao, located in the southernmost region of the Philippines, face enormous challenges as they struggle to realize their own promise and hopes for the future. Mindanao’s high level of poverty, impoverished schoolsystem, and unstable social and political situation, place its young people at particular risk. Lack of access to qualityeducation and employment opportunities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and other conflict affected areas, is of special concern.
Barely half of Mindanao’s youngest students complete elementary school, and less than 35% finish secondary school. Only 1 of 9 grade 1 enrollees in ARMM finished their fourth year in ten years and only 1 of 10 children who enter grade 1
proceeds to college. Teachers in this region are often ill-equipped for their jobs, with less than 20% passing their licensing exams. For youth seeking jobs in Mindanao, the challenges are far greater than those in other regions of the country.
The Education and Livelihood Skills Alliance (ELSA) is a multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral partnership established in 2004. Its goal is to create and expand school and communitybased learning, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities for highly at-risk children and young people living in the Autonomous Region of Mindanao in the Philippines.
The Alliance is composed of 5 highly respected international and Philippine NGOs working together to improve access to quality education and livelihood skills among Filipino youth. The team is led by the International Youth Foundation (IYF) in partnership with the Ayala Foundation, Consuelo Foundation, Philippine Business
for Social Progress, and the Petron Foundation.
ELSA’s activities have ranged from providing integrated technical job training, building/repairing schools, operating school-based health/feeding programs, improving the math, science, and English scores of 5th and 6th graders,
strengthening teacher pedagogical skills, promoting youth leadership and civic engagement, creating access for out-of-school youth to access accredited alternative learning systems, and expanding the text2teach satellite delivery classroom
technology program throughout 135 schools in the region.
Funding for ELSA was renewed by USAID in partnership with the Education Development Center with a grant of US$9
million in January, 2008 and is now an US$18 million program ending in 2011.
Read more about ELSA.
In 2007, ELSA won the ANVIL Award, considered the "Oscar" of public relations practice in the Philippines, for the succesful implementation of its In-School Youth Engagement Program.
(from left): Mr. Butch S. Racquel, 42nd Anvil Awards Committee Chairman; Ms. Myla Villanueva, Member of the Board of Jurors; Ms. Sol Delantar, Ayala Foundation's Youth Leadership Development Manager; Dr. Zeny Domingo, IYF Deputy Chief of Party; Mr. Bill Luz, Ayala Foundation's Executive Vice President; Mr. Leonides Valencia, Member of the Board of Jurors. photo by Voltaire Domingo.
Visit the ELSA website at www.elsa.org.ph
Resources
"Policy Research on Access to Quality Basic Education for Muslim Learners"
Success Story
Read how ELSA positively impacted the life 15-year-old Rowena from Mindanao.
Download the ELSA brochure
Read the Press Release announcing the launch of ELSA
Learn about our other initiatives that focus on Education and Employability |
