With much assistance from a great number of people we are pleased to be able to say that our final report for the 2021-22 grant, to help with the construction of an expansion to the Rotary Center in Mactan, has been accepted. We will receive the funds shortly. The center is used extensively for Back to School students to be able to complete high school, and also offers some additional skills training.
Although construction is not yet completed, Steve Wallace (our superhero) and his team (thanks Todd!) helped us to re-write the grant to cover the materials instead of the entire project. The overall construction project is large enough that the materials alone swallowed up the grant and club funds. Our Filipino Rotarians scrambled to provide the necessary information. Much credit goes to them all. Betweens typhoons and covid, it has been a challenge!
Construction is now underway. Once completed, the additional space will make it possible to expand the skills training that we offer. Currently, our high school grads might choose to go straight into the workforce but wage potential will be limited. For that reason we feel that skills training is vital. Both the community and many generations of the students' families will benefit if the student goes on to receive additional training. We already do a lot, but the expansion will make it possible to do even more.
We have made an application for a district grant for the 2022-23 year. The Filipino government offers construction training and certification, Although there is no tuition expense, the application fee and the requirement to have safety shoes and clothing presents our grads with an insurmountable hurdle. We plan to provide assistance to interested students to the extent that we can, but a grant would help us to reach our goal of helping 100 grads over the next year access this specialized training. Wage potential might triple, but even more importantly the community at large will benefit from more sustainable housing. The last typhoon damaged or destroyed 1.5 million homes in the Philippines.
Thank you to you all for the support we receive. Amazing things are being accomplished by our Filipino partners. Stay tuned for more news!