Give Books to Children in the Philippines

Through your generous support and the help of volunteers and partners, we have been able to give away 9,836 books from January to May of 2023. Our activity books on the rights of the child (Karapat Dapat) and fake news (#YOUTHink), and our story book The Rocking Horse comprised the bulk of the titles given away this year so far. 

In January, we broke ground for our dream chldren's museum in Ibaan, Batangas. To celebrate, we gave away copies of Karapat Dapat to the children in the surrounding community.

On February 14, there were enough love and books to go around in Sultan Esmael Elementary School.

In March, the Academy of Dentistry International, a group of dentists and former and current academicians, chose to celebrate their biennial convocation by giving books to Culiat Elementary School through the school's teacher, Sab Ongkiko, who spoke at their event.  

In April, budding journalists in the Marikina Elementary School Journalism Club were happy and surprised to receive copies of #YOUTHink: Fight Fake News in Filipino that were theirs to keep. Not only was it a reward for passing the screening for the club, but a valuable resource their club moderator promised to dive deeper into the book at club meetings. 

In Tarlac, Lend a Hand, a youth organization, braved the heat and distance to bring our books to two elementary schools this May. Children were given copies of Karapat Dapat and #YOUTHink Labanan ang Fake News, while they also received hard bound story books in their reading nooks for everyone to share.

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We hope that our fact books and story books not only arm young readers with valuable information, but also spark in them the imagination that is needed to solve today's problems. As Einstein once put it, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." 

We ended year 2022 with 34,789 donations, bringing us to 455,603 total book donations since the start of our literacy campaign. In 2023, our aim is to nearly double this: To give away 60,000 books this year! Can we do it? We will definitely work hard to meet it.

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On Human Rights Day, December 10, we gave away copies of Silent Witnesses at the screening of 11,103, a documentary on Martial Law in the Philippines. The audience was quite young -- in their early 20s and 30s -- and several viewers that raised questions in the open forum were interested in how they, too, could contribute to upholding human rights, across their different fields of work and study. By including Silent Witnesses, three-sentence stories drawn from the accounts of Martial Law survivors, we hope to have enriched the discourse and experience.

In Zambales, our I Am a Storyteller and I Am the Change in Climate Change books were included in a Christmas package for Aeta children, a Filipino indigenous group in Luzon. The Christmas packages also included school supplies, toys, food, and sanitary kits. The partnership was spearheaded by Museo ni Ramon Magsaysay in Zambales brought together their local government, volunteers, and CANVAS to spread some holiday cheer to the community.

Similarly, 250 of our mixed titles were sent to children in Cavite in partnership with Alitaptap Artist Community. Children, as well as seniors, in the community gathered to read books together. Our books, the organizers said, "would be the perfect way to introduce [the children] to art and inspire them to fulfill their potential." Despite the rain, young and old gathered for a simple but intimate celebration of the Christmas season.

We also teamed up with the Philippine Coalition on Volunteerism that chose to celebrate International Volunteer Day by donating books to Grade 5 and 6 students of Commonwealth Elemntary School in Novaliches, Quezon City. A thousand copies of #YOUTHink: Fight Fake News were handed over to the school's principal by CANVAS' Chairman of the Board, Max Ventura. We hope that the books give the students the tools they need to be critical of the information they come across on the internet and social media. 

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Reprints of our book on children's rights, Karapat Dapat, are arriving by the end of this month, and we look forward to get them into the hands of as many children as possible. Already, a few schools and communities are lined up, looking to improve their literacy skills and encourage a love for books.

Thank you very much for your continued support!

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