By Annette A. Ferrer with Aya Licsi | Deputy Executive Director
In 2024, we breached the half-way point of our one million book donation target! Today, our project totals 502,401 books donated, thanks to your support and encouragement!
We gave to 16 communities, 62 schools, and 63 book nooks and libraries across the Philippines last year! This means that, one book at a time, more and more children have access to good stories and art, increasing their opportunity for a wiser and brighter future.
More than 500,000 book donations also means that we, as a community, have directed more than PhP 150 million pesos into book publication and into bridging the literacy gap experienced by Filipino children. This is an achievement we must celebrate together!
Some Highlights
Some of the main books we gave away this year through our partner institutions and groups have been Babae! 18 Fierce and Fearless Filipinas and Karapat Dapat, Child Know Your Rights! The first book draws the spotlight toward the invaluable contribution of Filipina women in culture, history, science, and society; while the other champions the child and his/her rights.
In September, WE MALVAR gave away more than a thousand copies of Karapat Dapat through the Gandang Legal Project that culminated in a Halloween party the kids thoroughly enjoyed.
In November, to celebrate Reading Month, the University of the Philippines-Los Baños Gender Center held a Gender Sensitivity Orientation and Book-giving for Grade 7 students of the UP Rural School (UPRHS). They gave away copies of Babae! 18 Fierce and Fearless Filipinas.
Also in November, Stairway Foundation gave away Karapat Dapat in time for Children’s Month. They say, the books “… help create a foundation for a safer, more compassionate future for all children.” Meanwhile, the Rotary Club of Bauan gave copies of Hanapin Ang Sagot through their Spreading the Joy of Reading Project, underscoring that “For many students, it was their first experience owning a book, a treasure they could call their own.”
Hanapin Ang Sagot, our book on Martial Law in the Philippines,won two awards last year: The Gintong Aklat Award (Golden Book Award) in the General References category and National Children’s Book Award as a Best Read of 2022-2023.
A Fresh Look on Our Children’s Rights Book
One of our partners, Looking for Juan, teamed up with Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. to reprint special edition copies of Karapat Dapat with a vibrant pink cover! Some 300 copies of these were given to kids at May Boses Ako! World Children’s Day 2024 (I have a Voice!)
Participants of the Miksko Comic Development Workshop organized by the Council for the Welfare of Children and Consuelo Foundation also received copies of Karapat Dapat. Patti Ramos, president of the artists’ collective Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang INK), who facilitated the workshop shared that the kids “… were super happy to have a source of inspiration that they could take home. They seemed very excited to dig through the artwork and maybe even share it with others in their community!”
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These are just some stories from the communities you have helped us reach. Thank you! In 2025, our hope is to bring the love of reading and learning to more and more children in the Philippines.
Happy new year!
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