■ ZONTA CLUB OF CEBU II EXTENDS ALIMBUKAD BOOK LOVE PROJECT TO FOURTH SCHOOL IN DEPRESSED AREAS
Zonta Club of Cebu II’s outreach program Alimbukad: Basa Pamilya goes strong in its fourth year of implementation. It is now in three public schools, namely: Guadalupe Elementary School (ES) in Cebu City, Luyang ES in San Remigio town, and Poo ES in Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City. This time, it had launched its fourth Alimbukad school in Mandaue for school year 2018-2019. The program now has a total 5,000 children beneficiaries; 3,000 families; and 15 collaborators. The program’s goal is to promote daily reading at home and to empower parents to boost their children’s learning potential by making books part of their lives.
Alimbukad: Basa Pamilya is a K-2 family literacy program that aims to promote daily reading at home, among others
In its fourth year of implementation, Zonta Club of Cebu II’s Alimbukad: Basa Pamilya is going strong.
It is currently in three public schools–Guadalupe Elementary School (ES) in Cebu City, Luyang ES in San Remigio, and Poo ES in Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City.
The group also announced the launching of its fourth Alimbukad school in Mandaue for school year 2018-2019.
Alimbukad has expanded from urban poor to mountain villages and secluded island of Cebu, benefiting a total of 5,000 children, 3,000 families and 150 collaborators.
Alimbukad: Basa Pamilya is a K-2 family literacy program. Its goals are to promote daily reading at home and to empower parents to boost their children’s learning potential by making books an integral part of their lives.
By empowering the parents, stronger family bonds are developed. The family learns the value of literacy and eradication of poverty for generations.
The program provides thousands of books to read at home throughout the school year, conducts monthly parents training session where parents learn reading aloud techniques and effective parenting skills, and parent and child time session where parents do literacy activities with their children.
The Alimbukad Mandaue is the beneficiary of a huge donation of books from the Boys Scouts of America–Troop 96, based in The Church-in-the-Gardens in Forest Hills, New York City. Through the initiative of Eagle Scout Brandon Chu, his Project Alimbukad was approved in June 2017.
For the next three months, Brandon wrote letters to various children’s book publishers seeking books for collection, handed out flyers after church asking for books or monetary donations, picked up donations from house to house.
In early October, he and his fellow Eagle Scout members counted, organized, sorted, and packed 2,665 books into seven balikbayan boxes. Zonta Club of Cebu II received the shipment in late December.
Brandon’s Alimbukad journey has not ended. With Alimbukad Mandaue, the journey continues.
Zonta Club of Cebu II thanked its partners- Cebu City Public Library, Department of Eduation (DepEd) Cebu City Division, DepEd LapuLapu Division, DepEd Mandaue Division, ChildLink Learning Center, University of Southern Philippines and Bernie Aboitiz.
For those interested to donate books, contact the Zonta Club of Cebu II website or through the Cebu City Public Library.