In April, former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama revealed the Obama Foundation's inaugural batch of Fellows on Instagram. The organization pooled together 20 community leaders, who have an extraordinary background of civic work, and whom the foundation hopes to provide further opportunities for. Individuals from 11 countries who are involved with empowering parents, improving their community's education system, aiding and schooling the disabled, and treating addiction were recognized as Fellows. Among the 20 representatives is Teach for the Philippines CEO and founder Clarissa Delgado, who was chosen from over 20,000 from 191 countries.
Michelle Obama congratulated the Fellows on her post, saying, "You all give me so much hope. You represent the continuation of the possibilities for change around the world. Barack and I believe in you, and we couldn't be more excited to watch your work continue to grow."
Delgado was handpicked for her work with Teach for the Philippines, which she co-founded in 2012 along with her mother Margarita Delgado and Lizzie Zobel. For six years now, the non-profit organization has championed accessible education for Filipino children by training young leaders to teach in public schools for a two-year period. This program aims to fill the gap of 40,000 teachers needed in the public school system.
Since the announcement, Delgado took to Twitter to express her excitement about the opportunity: "Everything @TeachForThePH does, and all our partners and kababayans do, is always #ParaSaBata #ParaSaBayan."
The Obama Foundation was founded by former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama. The foundation's mission is to breed a whole new generation of civic leaders, who will inspire and lead their communities into the future. The foundation offers programs open to both established change-makers and those looking to get involved. Apart from the fellowship, the organization hosts summits, gives training sessions, and provides scholarships to empower its members.
Visit teachforthephilippines.org and obama.org for more information.
This story originally appeared on Townandcountry.ph.
* Minor edits have been made by the Femalenetwork.com editors.
