Angelo King Building Foundation (AKBF) and Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) celebrates 20 years of partnership

The year 2011 marked the 20th year of partnership between the Angelo King Building Foundation (AKBF) and Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). PBSP’s one and only training center in Calauan, Laguna established in the early 1990s inspired the joint venture with AKBF that saw this need as an opportunity to build more of such centers.

What started out with a common goal of empowering and transforming the lives of the underprivileged materialized into 200 building projects accomplished over the years. From 1991-2011, 694 organizations and approximately 96,030 landless rural workers, sustenance fisherfolks, marginal upland farmers, urban poor, and indigenous people have benefitted from 48 training centers, 123 multi-purpose centers, 16 trading/livelihood/warehouses, and 11 technology/vocational centers.

With the advent of technology and globalization at the turn of the century, AKBF and PBSP started finding strategic ways to improve the nature and quality of their projects to deliver longer-term and sustainable solutions in the years to come. The partnership has taken on the responsibility of educating communities on how they can maximize their resources and of equipping them with relevant sets of skills and knowledge, and aligning their strategies with the Inclusive Growth (IG) agenda that aims to make ways for people to both contribute to and benefit from economic growth. From simply building structures as avenues for social and livelihood activities, the partnership has provided training programs and founded cooperatives in communities.

AKBF and PBSP also responded to the Inclusive Growth agenda by adopting the Collective Impact approach. The partnership involved the whole community by partnering with creditors, buyers, private organizations, and government agencies that rendered support in manufacturing, production, professional and training services, sales, funding, or providing the license to operate among others. Altogether, they were able to consistently achieve their goal of building 10 centers annually.

Collaboration among the private & public sector and NGOs truly goes a long way in ensuring sustainability in poverty-alleviation programs and in fostering self-reliance among members of communities. Everyone has a role to play to contribute to national development. Businesses and communities alike cannot thrive in an environment where people do not have the sufficient means to avail of basic goods and services, let alone have access to basic human rights.

There is so much to be done.  AKBF and PBSP cannot do it alone. Inclusive growth calls for everyone.

To view the complete report, click here: Angelo King Building Fund