Reading hope in young minds

“Readers are leaders” declares the art paper cut-outs posted in one public elementary school library.  Good old madam librarian knows something about rhymes, but, more than that, her slogan affirms that reading is an indisputable source of power. It has the power to widen one's understanding of the world and stir up one's creativity and imagination. Indeed, our history books will say that great leaders like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and Ninoy Aquino were book lovers and were inspired by works written ahead of them.  So if we will have to consider the latest statistics on Filipino children's functional literacy and access to books, we are at risk of losing a generation of future leaders.

 According to the results of the Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), about 1 in 10 Filipinos cannot read and write—or is basically illiterate. Poverty may have something to do with it, because thirty percent (30%) of those living below the poverty line also had a hard time understanding what they read; these are what experts call functionally illiterate (www.nso.gov.ph). Fingers are pointing to the inadequacy of resources allotted for education. In a public elementary school, eight students on average are using a single book, and a teacher needs to be responsible to an average of 35 students (www.knowledgechannel.com). 

Faced with budgetary constraints and an ever-increasing number of enrollees, the public school system may need an upheaval to address these concerns. Rather than go into a blame game, a group of concerned individuals, lead by iamninoy volunteers and Capitol Jaycees, opted to do their part.  Equipped with storybooks and some storytelling/declamation skills, volunteers from all walks of life—students, public officials, journalists, business people, celebrities, and beauty queens—took part in an activity called “Araw ng Pagbasa: a Day of Learning, Stories, and Hope,” an initiative that seeks to raise interest on reading among elementary students. On November 27, storytelling sessions were simultaneously conducted in 20 schools and three libraries all over Quezon City. By providing a venue for re-telling stories of hope and courage to the nation's future leaders, the event  served as a fitting celebration of Ninoy's birthday.

A kick-off ceremony was held at sundown under the giant Christmas Tree near Gateway Mall in the Araneta Center.  Ninoy's grandson Kiko Aquino Dee and Bb. Pilipinas winners Jennifer Barrientos and Patricia Fernandez jumpstarted the readings. The following day, iamninoy volunteers, Yna Sorongon, Illac Diaz, Puri and Ma. Theresa Espeleta, narrated stories with an army of guest-readers as prominent as  Isabela Governor Grace Padaca, journalist Howie Severino, actress Ara Mina, human rights lawyer Kit Belmonte, and Ms Earth 2008 Karla Paula Henry. Quezon City Councilors Ariel Inton, Edcel Lagman, Bong Suntay, Candy Medina, Doray Delarmente, Joseph Juico, and Bernadette Herrera-Dy also took a break from their daily session hall grind and read a story to elementary students.

During a storytelling session in Claret School of Quezon City and St. Joseph College, Councilor Bolet Banal and ABS-CBN's Dorie Camacho read the speech that Ninoy would have delivered, had he not been shot upon his arrival at the Manila International Airport in 1983. “Ninoy was a brilliant man,” Councilor Bolet said, as he encouraged young people to explore the mind-expanding world of books. “It could be in his genes, it could be a result of his rich experiences and interactions with people, but we could not disregard the idea that it could also be a result of his love affair with books and reading.”