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The Manila Bulletin: Pampanga students get new Libraries
Pampanga students get new Libraries
By: Harvey S. Keh
The Manila Bulletin
May 16,2010 (Sunday)
Now that the elections are over, many of our public schools can now focus on preparing for the upcoming school year. As we all know, one of the major problem areas in our country continues to be the lack of quality education in our public schools where more than 90% of our young Filipinos currently study. In some areas, we continue to have students who reach high school but whose reading comprehension skills are that of a Grade 3 student. Sadly, the growth of non-readers in our country is further compounded by the fact that unlike their private school counterparts, our public elementary schools do not often have functional and up to the date school libraries. Libraries are essential in a child’s education since this is the place where he or she will discover new things that can allow him to dream and open his or her imagination to a wider horizon. Hopefully, the next administration led by President-elect, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III will be able to make the improvement of our public schools as one of his major priorities.
Fortunately, public elementary school students in the towns of Sto. Tomas and Minalin in Pampanga no longer have to wait until Aquino takes office because when they enter their schools this coming June, they will be greeted with a brand new school library complete with books and reference materials. Not many people know that the library in Sto. Tomas was badly damaged during the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 and since then their students never had the chance to have a fully functional library.These libraries were donated in part by the Acts of Hope for the Nation (AHON) Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Filway Marketing Inc., which is the country’s lone distributor of Time Life Books. While the whole country was busy with the campaign, AHON worked with the teachers and parents from these two towns to refurbish their school libraries. Teachers helped raise funds to buy paint that will be used to make the library more attractive to students while the parents did their share to help set up new shelves wherein the new books can be placed. After a month of working together, AHON then donates P 500,000 worth of brand new books to each school. In addition to this, AHON also works with the Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University to provide free librarianship training to the teachers who will be assigned to take care of the library.
AHON Volunteer conducts story-telling sessions with some of the students.
Since it started in 2006, AHON has already helped build 36 public elementary school libraries that are currently being used by more than 80,000 students throughout the country.
In his inauguration speech, AHON’s Chairman Hector Tagaysay shares that this is his company’s commitment to the Filipino youth and he hopes that AHON can continue to reach more public schools in the country. More importantly, Tagaysay stressed that the books that were donated shouldn’t be locked up in cabinets but it should always be made very accessible to the students. In his words, “Okay lang kahit masira ang mga libro dahil sa kakagamit ng mga estudyante dahil siguradong papalitan naming ang mga librong yan.”
AHON’s passion and commitment to helping improve our public schools goes to show that we cannot just leave the government to worry about and address our country’s social problems. Private individuals and organizations should also do their own share in helping rebuild our nation. The bayanihan spirit fostered in building AHON’s public elementary school libraries should teach us that if government and the private sector work together, great things can happen in our nation.
To volunteer or donate to our public elementary schools, you can contact AHON Foundation at (02) 683-0262 local 109. You can also visit AHON's website athttp://www.ahonfoundation.com .
Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com
Harvey S. Keh is currently the Executive Director and President of AHON Foundation.
The Manila Bulletin: Pampanga students get new Libraries
The Manila Bulletin: Pampanga students get new Libraries
The Manila Bulletin: Pampanga students get new Libraries
The Manila Bulletin: Pampanga students get new Libraries
Pampanga students get new Libraries
By: Harvey S. Keh
The Manila Bulletin
May 16,2010 (Sunday)
Now that the elections are over, many of our public schools can now focus on preparing for the upcoming school year. As we all know, one of the major problem areas in our country continues to be the lack of quality education in our public schools where more than 90% of our young Filipinos currently study. In some areas, we continue to have students who reach high school but whose reading comprehension skills are that of a Grade 3 student. Sadly, the growth of non-readers in our country is further compounded by the fact that unlike their private school counterparts, our public elementary schools do not often have functional and up to the date school libraries. Libraries are essential in a child’s education since this is the place where he or she will discover new things that can allow him to dream and open his or her imagination to a wider horizon. Hopefully, the next administration led by President-elect, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III will be able to make the improvement of our public schools as one of his major priorities.
Fortunately, public elementary school students in the towns of Sto. Tomas and Minalin in Pampanga no longer have to wait until Aquino takes office because when they enter their schools this coming June, they will be greeted with a brand new school library complete with books and reference materials. Not many people know that the library in Sto. Tomas was badly damaged during the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 and since then their students never had the chance to have a fully functional library.These libraries were donated in part by the Acts of Hope for the Nation (AHON) Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Filway Marketing Inc., which is the country’s lone distributor of Time Life Books. While the whole country was busy with the campaign, AHON worked with the teachers and parents from these two towns to refurbish their school libraries. Teachers helped raise funds to buy paint that will be used to make the library more attractive to students while the parents did their share to help set up new shelves wherein the new books can be placed. After a month of working together, AHON then donates P 500,000 worth of brand new books to each school. In addition to this, AHON also works with the Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University to provide free librarianship training to the teachers who will be assigned to take care of the library.
Since it started in 2006, AHON has already helped build 36 public elementary school libraries that are currently being used by more than 80,000 students throughout the country.
In his inauguration speech, AHON’s Chairman Hector Tagaysay shares that this is his company’s commitment to the Filipino youth and he hopes that AHON can continue to reach more public schools in the country. More importantly, Tagaysay stressed that the books that were donated shouldn’t be locked up in cabinets but it should always be made very accessible to the students. In his words, “Okay lang kahit masira ang mga libro dahil sa kakagamit ng mga estudyante dahil siguradong papalitan naming ang mga librong yan.”
AHON’s passion and commitment to helping improve our public schools goes to show that we cannot just leave the government to worry about and address our country’s social problems. Private individuals and organizations should also do their own share in helping rebuild our nation. The bayanihan spirit fostered in building AHON’s public elementary school libraries should teach us that if government and the private sector work together, great things can happen in our nation.
To volunteer or donate to our public elementary schools, you can contact AHON Foundation at (02) 683-0262 local 109. You can also visit AHON's website athttp://www.ahonfoundation.com .
Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com
Harvey S. Keh is currently the Executive Director and President of AHON Foundation.
By: Harvey S. Keh
The Manila Bulletin
May 16,2010 (Sunday)
Now that the elections are over, many of our public schools can now focus on preparing for the upcoming school year. As we all know, one of the major problem areas in our country continues to be the lack of quality education in our public schools where more than 90% of our young Filipinos currently study. In some areas, we continue to have students who reach high school but whose reading comprehension skills are that of a Grade 3 student. Sadly, the growth of non-readers in our country is further compounded by the fact that unlike their private school counterparts, our public elementary schools do not often have functional and up to the date school libraries. Libraries are essential in a child’s education since this is the place where he or she will discover new things that can allow him to dream and open his or her imagination to a wider horizon. Hopefully, the next administration led by President-elect, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III will be able to make the improvement of our public schools as one of his major priorities.
Fortunately, public elementary school students in the towns of Sto. Tomas and Minalin in Pampanga no longer have to wait until Aquino takes office because when they enter their schools this coming June, they will be greeted with a brand new school library complete with books and reference materials. Not many people know that the library in Sto. Tomas was badly damaged during the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 and since then their students never had the chance to have a fully functional library.These libraries were donated in part by the Acts of Hope for the Nation (AHON) Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of Filway Marketing Inc., which is the country’s lone distributor of Time Life Books. While the whole country was busy with the campaign, AHON worked with the teachers and parents from these two towns to refurbish their school libraries. Teachers helped raise funds to buy paint that will be used to make the library more attractive to students while the parents did their share to help set up new shelves wherein the new books can be placed. After a month of working together, AHON then donates P 500,000 worth of brand new books to each school. In addition to this, AHON also works with the Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University to provide free librarianship training to the teachers who will be assigned to take care of the library.
AHON Volunteer conducts story-telling sessions with some of the students.
Since it started in 2006, AHON has already helped build 36 public elementary school libraries that are currently being used by more than 80,000 students throughout the country.
In his inauguration speech, AHON’s Chairman Hector Tagaysay shares that this is his company’s commitment to the Filipino youth and he hopes that AHON can continue to reach more public schools in the country. More importantly, Tagaysay stressed that the books that were donated shouldn’t be locked up in cabinets but it should always be made very accessible to the students. In his words, “Okay lang kahit masira ang mga libro dahil sa kakagamit ng mga estudyante dahil siguradong papalitan naming ang mga librong yan.”
AHON’s passion and commitment to helping improve our public schools goes to show that we cannot just leave the government to worry about and address our country’s social problems. Private individuals and organizations should also do their own share in helping rebuild our nation. The bayanihan spirit fostered in building AHON’s public elementary school libraries should teach us that if government and the private sector work together, great things can happen in our nation.
To volunteer or donate to our public elementary schools, you can contact AHON Foundation at (02) 683-0262 local 109. You can also visit AHON's website athttp://www.ahonfoundation.com .
Comments are welcome at harveykeh@gmail.com
Harvey S. Keh is currently the Executive Director and President of AHON Foundation.