CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Balay Mindanaw Group of NGOs recently launched the newest and youngest member of BMG – the Global Mindanaw Polytechnic, Inc. (GMP).
Launched last week on the 16th anniversary of BMG, the GMP is a TESDA-accredited and SEC-registered vocational technical school that was specifically established to help in the fulfillment of the vision of BMG.
Ariel Hernandez, senior director of Balay Mindanaw Group, said that the conceptualization of the GMP began four years ago.
“The seed for this venture began to germinate four years ago as we tried to find other ventures that we think will contribute to the fulfillment of the vision of Balay,” he said.
Hernandez, also the executive director of the Katilingbanong Pamahandi sa Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. (KPMFI) that has been a member of the BMG for six years now, said that GMP is the fruit of years of trying to find ways to help solve the problem of poverty in the rural agricultural areas of Misamis Oriental and elsewhere.
“Balay is very close to the rural community … and through the years we have been trying to find ways to help farmers find other sources of income…. Agricultural investment will always be there. But the farmers having other sources of income, this will help solve poverty,” he stressed.
GMP, to be administered by Fleurabelle “Flong” Torres, will provide farmers and their children viable skills that they can exploit to augment their income from the land, he explained.
Hernandez explained that GMP was established to (1) provide technical vocational education and training programs, especially to poor rural households in Mindanao; (2) take the lead in providing globally competitive, excellent and tradable skillful Filipino workers with passion for socio-economic development such as alleviating poverty and building peace; (3) provide the highest possible quality of professionalism in education and training that is market-driven, relevant to industry needs and at par with national and international standards; (4) be sought on its expertise in innovative community-based technology and entrepreneurship development by those who demand the highest caliber of human resources and by those potential entrepreneurs, hence, it is the Center for Mindanao Technopreneurship; and (5) partner with like-minded and like-hearted institutions, especially with technical vocation and financial institutions coming from public and private sectors to ensure the viability and sustainability of its programs and projects.
“I hope that GMP will not just provide them with skills but through it they will be able to use these skills for livelihood and entrepreneurship,” said GMP Board Member Irene Floro, president and CEO of the Skills Mastery Institute (SMI).
Floro, who helped BMG establish GMP, also said that the GMP “will help BMG attain its vision, mission and goals for Mindanao, the Philippines and the World.”
Teddy Sabugaa, Provincial Peace and Order Council executive director, expressed hope that through the GMP, BMG will attain more heights in its “fight” to achieve genuine peace for Mindanao, the Philippines and the World.
He said that the provincial government of Misamis Oriental is ready and willing to help BMG attain its VMG through GMP by providing scholarships to deserving students.
At present, GMP is offering courses on massage therapy, housekeeping, household services, and food and beverage. (Bong D. Fabe)