Give Books to Children in the Philippines

We are happy to share that two new titles join the roster of books in our literacy campaign, both history books!

BABAE! 18 Fierce and Fearless Filipinas spotlights the contributions of women in Philippine history. It celebrates women's work towards freedom and nationhood, in art and culture, and advances in science. Penned, illustrated, and published by an all-woman team, it was launched in March in celebration of Women's Month.

Hanapin ang Sagot: Ano ang Batas Militar? takes a different approach to presenting one of the darkest periods of Philippine history. Not only is it packed with documentation, photos, and news clippings on Martial Law, it asks important questions such as: What is the role of the police and the military, what is corruption, and why did Filipinos oust President Marcos. As German-American historian Hajo Holborn correctly pointed out, "History gives answers only to those who know how to ask questions." Hanapin ang Sagot, which means "search for the answer" in Filipino also features watercolor works by artist Aldy Aguirre that reflect and grapple with this traumatic historical period, the impacts still felt by the nation today.

Some 390 students from the University of the Philippines Integrated School were the first to receive copies of Hanapin ang Sagot at an educational talk on Human Rights in November last year. We thank Tina Bawagan, a social science teacher and herself a survivor of human rights abuses in Martial Law, for helping us give away this book.

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Data privacy and climate justice are also human rights, and we continue our human rights advocacy by donating books on these topics.

In celebration of this year's Earth Day, our partner Stairway Foundation brought Ang Punla ng Aratiles (The Sapling) to its communities in Oriental Mindoro as part of its climate storytelling efforts in classrooms. Ang Punla ng Aratiles asks "What would a seedling mean in a treeless world?"

Our partners at Looking for Juan also gave away copies of Safe Space, our data privacy guide for kids to students of Gilbert Semon Elementary School in Benguet. This was part of an art workshop on online safety led by artist Danielle Florendo. Participating students wrote pledges on paper planes they designed themselves on how they could help make the internet a safer space.

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As of May 17, 2024, our literacy campaign has donated 494,444 books to children all over the Philippines. We look forward to breaching the 500,000 mark very soon, thanks to your continued support.

Links:

• Learn more about CANVAS and our projects.
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We are on the cusp of completing 500,000 book donations to Filipino children nationwide, the halfway point to our dream of giving away one million books. We are optimistic that we can reach and breach that mark this year, with your continued support!

At the close of 2023, we were able to give away 36,841 books making our grand total 492,444 books since the start of the project.

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We are grateful for the great enthusiasm our of partners, bringing our books to children who need them, such as Mr. Chester Cortez, librarian and school development officer of DepEd Nueva Vizcaya who has begun to distribute copies of Safe Space to 25 institutions in his region.

We also partnered with Ms. Genevie de Castro whose personal initiative of "Filipino Books Beyond Borders" have gotten our hardbound storybooks into the Pamana Chilren's Library in Chicago, to be enjoyed by children of the Filipino diaspora, and whoever may be interested in reading them. The Pamana Children's Library was inaugurated just last December 9 on the eve of International Human Rights Day.

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To start the new year, we are working to give away copies of Ang Punla ng Aratiles (The Sapling), one of our newest storybooks about the miracle of a sapling sprouting in a treeless world. Written by Eugene Y. Evasco and brought to life by RV Basco, it's a thrilling and heart-warming adventure for kids, and a nostalgic trip to childhood for adults. 

Word from our communities and beneficiaries is that elementary and middle-school students' reading skills have suffered significantly, and have been exacerbated by the long pandemic lockdowns with lingering effects. Their students, they tell us, have a difficult time reading and comprehending even simple stories. The demand therefore is for more stories that they can relate to, more exposure to narratives to tease the brain and the imagination. We hope that by including Ang Punla ng Aratiles (The Sapling) in our roster of titles for the campaign, we can truly be sensitive and responsive to the communities we seek to serve.

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We hope you do not get tired of helping us in our literacy campaign. Stay with us as we work to reach our 500,000 milestone, and then finally, our one million! Many thanks!

Links:

• Learn more about CANVAS and our projects.
• Follow us on Facebook!
• Let's connect on InstaGram.