Bemel Grace Arnaiz, a 15-year-old girl from the conflict-torn town of Makilala on the Philippine island of Mindanao, has been able to attend school for the last three years because of a sponsor from Japan.
In 2010, she was offered a scholarship by the Mindanao Children's Library Foundation, a nongovernmental organization, after its founder, Tomo Matsui, found out she belongs to a big, poor family that gets by only on farming.
"I was really surprised with the offer of a scholarship. Initially, I was scared, thinking it's a scam by human-traffickers. But I learned later that they found (out) about my situation because my older brother was already (a beneficiary of the foundation)," said Arnaiz, who is now in her first year of high school in a public school. "Ever since, I've really been happy here in the foundation because I know I will be able to finish my studies."