Japan NGOs, dentists awarded for contributions to PHL

Published December 10, 2014 7:17am

Two Japanese non-government organizations and two dentists were awarded for their voluntary charitable work in the Philippines.

Philippine deputy chief of mission Gilberto Asuque cited the awardees for their work in depressed communities in the Philippines, the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo said.

Conferred the “Award for Encouragement of Social Contribution 2014” by the Foundation for Encouragement of Social Contribution (FESCO) were:

- Salt Payatas
- Glocal Gift Net
- Dr. Eiro Kutoba
- Dr. Shinjiro Kawano

The awards were given Monday, Dec. 1, at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo with Princess Yoko Mikasanomiya as the guest.

Asuque relayed the Embassy’s appreciation to Emiko Ogawa, executive director of Salt Payatas Foundation Philippines Inc., which started in 1995 to support children and their mothers at the dumpsite in Payatas.

Salt Payatas grants scholarships and activities to support the production and sale of handicrafts as stable income sources, and local study tours for Japanese.

It has reached the stage where it is generating enough profit to let women in the community earn a decent living.

For their part, Kutoba and Kawano have been providing dental care as volunteers in the Philippines since 1987.

They treated tooth decay among residents of Cebu and Negros provinces, and expanded their acitvities to public health by teaching people how to brush their teeth and use fluoride mouth rinse.

The two Japanese dentists also launched a project to provide surgical treatment for people with cleft lips and palates in 2001 in Negros province.

Glocal Gift Net started charity work in 2003 to provide Christmas gifts to children in poor areas.

It has expended its activities to include:

- international education and cultural exchange programs including study tours
- sponsoring program projects that operate kindergartens and provide support for education in the Philippines
- charity projects that sell fair trade products made by parents of kindergarten children.

Glocal Gift Net operates mainly in Manila and Cebu and in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and has engaged in charitable work for almost 10 years.

FESCO, formerly Nippon Kenshokai Foundation, is a private body established in 1971 and funded by investment profits as well as donations from other foundations.

It aims to publicize and make known the good works of those who have contributed to society. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News

Tags: japanngos, payatas, japanaid