Information and news about the USAID Growth with Equity in Mindanao III (GEM 3) Project

Students of Banisil Elementary School in Tambler, General Santos City, sharpen their reading skills using science reference materials provided through USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program. Under its Education Matching Grant Project (EMGP), GEM matched the funds raised by the school’s parent-teacher association (PTA) to upgrade the school’s computer laboratory and library resources. To date, the GEM Program has provided education matching grants to more than 1,000 schools in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, under the oversight of the Mindanao Development Authority. The PTAs work with GEM in using these grants to establish school mini-libraries, computer and science laboratories and multi-media centers.