Jose Rizal University Stands Up Against Poverty

Jose Rizal University (JRU), the university that cares for good education, participated in the recently concluded the global challenge of the United Nations Millennium Campaign. It launched a local commemoration of Stand Up or Tumayo Tayo (UN Millenium Campaign Global Challenge) where it has contributed remarkable number of persons to be counted as participants to the aimed official Guinness World Record for most number of people ever to stand up against poverty.

Stand Up or Tumayo Tayo aims to raise awareness among the people in the world of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. The core areas of the MDGs include eradicating extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, improving mental health, combating of HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases, realizing environmental sustainability, and developing global partnership for environment. In the year 2000, 183 member countries of the United Nations signed these MGDs. These are aimed to decrease the poverty incidence world-wide to 50%.

Believing that every individual and institution has the responsibility to promote and contribute to national development, JRU took the opportunity to participate in this global campaign against poverty.

According to Dr. Vincent K. Fabella, JRU president, JRU was very excited about the partnership with United Nations Development Program. “We feel that the MGDs of UN and JRU’s mission are pretty much the same” he added.

JRU is among the various schools and institutions in the country that participated in the symbolic fight against poverty. Locally, the target is to have a minimum of 1 million Filipinos to stand up and be counted. And, JRU contributed roughly 300 Filipinos to that target.

One of the guest speakers, Prof. Alex Brillantes, Dean of UP NCPAG and Secretary-General of Association of Schools for Public Administration, congratulated JRU and said that it should be proud of its participation in this global advocacy and you. “If there’s one thing you have to treasure, it’s your participation to this symbolic event of our fight against poverty” he added.

As part of JRU’s commemoration of Tumayo Tayo, participants declared their pledge of allegiance to the Millennium Development Goals standing up for justice and not simple charity for the impoverished.

Through the event, JRU confirms its mission to help in the development of the Philippines. It also reiterates its pride of being able to have a mission that is consistent with the MDGs of the United Nations. The JRU family commits to work together in helping alleviate poverty.

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