MANILA, Philippines — Japan’s ambassador to the Philippines has signed a grant contract that aims to provide additional and better classrooms for children living in “conflict-affected” areas in Pikit, Mindanao.

Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe, together with Yukiyo Nomura, Country Director of ICAN Philippines, signed the contract for the “Peace Building Project through Education in Conflict-Affected areas in Pikit, Mindanao (Phase 1)” at the Embassy of Japan.

The project, amounting to $561,795 (approximately P24 million), will be funded through the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, a small-grant funding program of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA).

Under the project, a six-classroom building will be constructed and a two-classroom building will be repaired for the Sultan Kudarat Memorial High School. Armchairs, teacher’s desks and tables, and blackboards, will also be provided.

The construction of a new school building will address the growing concern over classroom congestion and will provide the students with an improved learning environment.

The municipality of Pikit, which has a population of about 10,000, lies in Cotabato Province, Mindanao. In the municipality, around 75 percent of residents are Muslims while the remaining 25 percent are Christians.

Pikit has witnessed armed conflicts several times in the past, forcing temporary evacuation among residents. Since the security condition is relatively stable these days, more and more children want to go back to school.

However, the municipality has not provided sufficient learning environments for them—there are only five classrooms in the Sultan Kudarat Memorial High School with more than 300 students.

The number of students per classroom in the school is over 60. As such they need to endure the congestion. Even an outside stage is used to accommodate some students.

“Many children are also suffering from trauma or stress due to the series of conflicts. They lost their family members or relatives and assets. To prevent these children from holding hostility toward people with different religions and halt the vicious cycle of violence, it is imperative to promote the peace education in this region,” the Embassy of Japan said in a statement.