The International Bazaar Foundation Inc. (IBF) is targeting to raise P10 million in sales for this year’s International Bazaar, which proceeds go to poor but deserving Filipino students through scholarship grants.

The 2024 International Bazaar, which will occupy the World Trade Center in Pasay City this 3 November, will gather more than 200 kiosks after more than 40 embassies and consular offices signified their participation in the event.

According to IBF chairperson Pamela Louise Manalo, the biggest contingent of the 58^th edition of the bazaar is the United States, with 16 booths participating, offering a diverse range of products.

“Beyond shopping and cultural experience, the bazaar, themed 'Shop Global, Help Local' is about making a difference. Part of the funds raised through this event will support programs for abused women, the homeless, and other marginalized communities, offering them not just solutions to hunger but also hope. Ultimately, the International Bazaar 2024 embodies the advocacy of the Foundation and the diplomatic and consulate corps to transform these resources into essential services that contribute to the socio-economic welfare of those in need,” she said a press conference on Wednesday at the World Trade Center.

IBF executive director Nora Salazar, for her part, said last year’s bazaar raked P9 million in sales and aims to produce P10 million this year to help more beneficiaries.

“Most of the funds go to the scholarship program and we also have support from institutions taking care of the elderly and abused children and a set-aside fund for start-ups of livelihood projects for distressed communities, as well as to victims of calamities,” she said.

The International Bazaar was initiated in 1966 by Angela Valdes-Ramos, wife of then Secretary of Foreign Affairs Narciso Ramos, and was duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the International Bazaar Foundation, Incorporated (IBF) on 26 April 1995.

The first bazaar was held as a special project of the Ladies of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, other government agencies, and the private sector.

The bazaar has since become an annual undertaking of the IBF in cooperation with the DFA, the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, and the Spouses of the Heads of Mission (SHOM).

SHOM is a group composed of the spouses of foreign Ambassadors and permanent Chargés d'affaires accredited to the Philippines.

The primary mission of the bazaar is to help change the lives of the marginalized sectors of society by generating charitable capital and providing services that contribute to the health and well-being of the communities the foundation serves.