At the Datu Ambel Memorial High School in North Cotabato, NGOs and school administrators are giving away free breakfasts starting this July to encourage students to complete their education. The high school has a low completion rate, with only 8 graduates in 2008 out of 50 enrollees in 2004.

“Going to school hungry most of the time could affect students’ performance in school,” says Lhor Laguia, teacher in charge at the Datu Ambel High School.

Citing research, he explained that while public schools in Mindanao are free, for many students, hunger is the number one reason they drop out of school.

Quoting the Dalai Lama, Laguia added, “Peace in the absence of war is of little value if someone is dyingof hunger.”

The breakfast program at the Datu Ambel High School is organized by the Minland Foundation and the Moro National Liberation Front, with support from the Move On Philippines International, the Filipino International Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, and private individuals in the US and the Philippines.

The socio-civic group Minland Foundation works with its US partner Move On Philippines International to secure land projects in Minandao, as well as scale up shelter delivery and empower urban women in conflict-ridden areas in the southern part of the Philippines.