Philippines President Aquino Commends 5by20 STAR Program
In the Philippines, March is National Women’s Month. It’s a perfect time to reflect on the accomplishments of Filipina women, but also to renew and strengthen the ongoing work to empower women across the country. Through the collaborative efforts of government, businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), more and more Filipino women are becoming major economic contributors to their families, their communities and their country.
In late March, Philippines President Benigno Aquino III
attended the celebration of 5,000 women graduates of the Sari-Sari Store
Training and Access to Resources (STAR) program. The program is the result of a
partnership among the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA),
President Benigno Aquino III is joined by
Addressing the large audience of program beneficiaries, program partners and media, President Aquino maintained that the STAR program is not only improving women’s lives—it is improving the state of the Philippine economy. “With these sari-sari stores, we see the vigor of trade,” Aquino told the crowd. “It is also here where we first see the connections that help bridge the expansion of business.” Freedom from hunger is one of the country’s most central needs, he maintained, and the women empowered through the STAR program are—and will continue to be—an important part of addressing this need more effectively.
According to a front-page Philippine Star article about the gathering, President Aquino explained that he is keenly aware of how women can shape the course of a country, since he is the son of the Philippines’ first woman president. Running a sari-sari store or a carinderia, he said, gives women a greater ability to determine that course: “We are aware that every business, big or small, has [a] valuable contribution to make the economy grow.”
Since the STAR program began in 2011, more than 34,000 women
have directly benefited from the program. As part of
In addition to more tangible skills, the STAR program offers Filipinas the power of self-sufficiency. (Hear the stories of two program beneficiaries here.) Program graduates are given the tools and know-how to be business-savvy leaders, which strengthens their communities’ economies. They are truly the links that form the chain of inspiration—they are role models for their families, and they provide a wonderful example for the generations to come.