MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Gallus
Children in war zones and living in extreme poverty will receive help from
Australian funded aid projects, the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, Mrs Chris Gallus, announced today in the Philippines.
'The grants will support local non-government organisations to integrate
children, as victims of conflict, into school and community programs in
Mindano, in the southern Philippines,' Mrs Gallus said.
Mrs Gallus presented this year's Development for Peace Awards in Manila
to three local NGOs.
'The Balay Rehabilitation Centre, the Ateneo Research Centre and the
Philippine Society for the Study of Nature will provide victims of poverty and
war with an opportunity to develop new skills and reintegrate into
society,' Mrs Gallus said.
Mrs Gallus also announced that over the next five years, more than 400
students from the Philippines will receive postgraduate training in Australia
and 700 will benefit from other training activities through a new Australian
funded facility.
'The Australian Development Scholarships program will be amalgamated
with the Philippines-Australia Short Term Training Facility to become the new
Philippines Human Resource Development Facility,' Mrs Gallus said.
'Merging the two programs will help ensure education and training is
well targeted to meet the country's development needs.
'This year, Australian overseas aid to the Philippines of more than
AUD$60 million, is improving basic education, health and local government
services.
'Australian aid is also supporting peace building, conflict resolution
and post-conflict recovery efforts in Mindanao,' Mrs Gallus said.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs is in Manila to represent
Australia at the Second Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Forum for East
Asia-Latin America Cooperation.
Media contacts:
Shane Fairlie (Mrs Gallus' office) 02 6277 4840 or 0408 680 442
Jo Elsom (AusAID) 02 6206 4960 or 0412 804 489