Project Pass-a-book

The Big Os

The project aims

·         To instill a love for reading among Filipino children

·         To build a community of children who can and will read

·         To make the Filipino children appreciate our children's literature

·         To provide marginalized Filipino children opportunities to read authentic Philippine children's literature

The Mission (I'm) Possible

Project Pass-a-book is  a collective effort of literacy advocates, non-government organizations (NGOs) and private institutions to provide children in Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental opportunities to read and enjoy locally-published children's books.

The people backing this project strongly believe that reading, as an important life skill, should be developed and nurtured inside and outside the school.  The proponents of this project believe in the power of reading to tickle one's imagination, to quench a person's thirst for knowledge and to transform people's lives. Thus, creating an opportunity to read is a must.

The Challenge

Project Pass-a-book aims to distribute new picture story/books to school-aged children in a far-flung place where buying a book (and reading) is a luxury. The picture storybooks would be coming from the different individual or group donors. Each new picture storybook to be donated must

a.       be covered with clear plastic to ensure its durability,

b.      have the donor's message/dedication to the child who will receive the book to make the experience more personal . The message could be in Cebuano, Filipino, and English (with Filipino translation).

Other ways to make the gift-giving more personal are highly-encouraged (e.g. attaching a picture).

The Setting

After 14 years, I'm gonna see again this mountain.

The heart of Cabalawan.

Project Pass-a-book aims to distribute new picture story/books to school-aged children in Cabalawan, Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental on the third week of December 2011.  Cabalawan is a small barrio that is almost nine kilometres away from the main road/high-way. It houses an elementary school that has 4 teachers and a number of students (no sufficient data as of today). Magsaysay is a fourth class municipality. (Keep posted for the pictures of the place and school profile written by one of the school officials.)

The Mission (I'm) Possible II

The project would also like to tap volunteers from the beneficiary barangay, preferably the teachers   to facilitate "literary circle" activities. A literary circle is an unorthodox way (for lack of a better term) of grouping the children for book talks and other enrichment activities. Activities include discussion about the book (e.g. plot, illustration, genre, etc.), enrichment activities (arts and crafts, music). The literary circle could be formed based on the reader-child's interest, reading ability, instructional needs and the book's literary genre. Thus, generic literary circle activities (e.g. lesson plans/ideas, graphic organizers) would also be given to the teachers during the short project orientation. (You may also share your 'photocopy-able' teacher resources/materials.

The said volunteers will also smooth the progress of the ‘passing of the book’ from one child to another. The project aims to introduce to the children the wealth of children’s literature that this country has, in doing so, the books that they have should be shared to other children in the literary circle. It’s the volunteer-teacher’s job to monitor the rotation of the books in the literature circle. This explains the need for the books to be plastic-covered.

The Possible FAQs

1.       What kind of books should I give?

a.       New picture books/picture storybooks in English with a Filipino or Cebuano translation published in the Philippines  (Know your local children's literature.)

                                       i.            Adarna House books

                                     ii.            OMF Lit-Hiyas books

                                    iii.            Anvilbooks

                                   iv.            LG&M-Vibalbooks

                                     v.            Lamparabooks

                                   vi.            Tahananbooks

                                  vii.            Others

2.       Where are the 'drop-off' points?

a.       School of Saint LaSalle of QC in North Olympus Subdivision, Zabarte Road, Novaliches. Look for T. Jerson or leave it/them to the guard on duty.

b.      TBA. (If you want to volunteer your office/place as a drop-off point, send an email or SMS to brojersrc@gmail.com / 0906-204-5044)

3.       Is there a way for me to know that the book has really reached its new owner?

a.       All activities will be documented through photos and some written documents. A blog post in www.misterserendipity.blogspot.com will serve as the "State of the Donation Address' or SODA before 2011 ends.

4.       What if I'm 'tinatamad' na 'mag-plastic cover?

a.       Think again if you really want to donate. If the answer is still a yes, get the book, plastic, scissors and tape. This activity doesn't happen every day, so your katamaran (e.g. going to the bookstore, writing a message) is not a valid excuse.

5.       What if I want to share my old books?

a.       Sharing your old books is good but only new books are accepted. The children in Cabalawan are so used to receiving old textbooks from the Department of Education. I think they deserve new ones too.

6.       What if I want to share other stuff like bags and pencils?

a.       Great! Then we can have another outreach activity in April or May.

7.       What do I get from this?

a.       A reward from God (well, if you have the right motives)

b.      A hope for a better Philippines

c.       A million thank-yous from the children of Cabalawan

So what are you waiting for?

a.       Go to the bookstore. Share this very-demanding project to your friends. Make a pledge. Start saving  for that Php 70-book. Give because you have something to give.

b.      Shrug it off. Make excuses. Wallow in apathy.