World Vision-DepEd’s Brigada Pagbasa to address literacy gap in Phl

In celebration of National Literacy Month and in preparation for November’s National Reading Month, the World Vision Development Foundation, in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday launched Brigada Pagbasa, a movement that seeks to enhance the reading skill of Filipino children.

The project, an extension of the Brigada Eskwela campaign that promotes community participation in time for the school opening, brought together officials from the DepEd, experts, change makers, policymakers and other stakeholders across all sectors from international and local agencies as well as public and private organizations to spread reading literacy among Filipino children.

To make this happen, World Vision, together with the DepEd, is partnering with the National Library of the Philippines, National Book Development Board, and E Net Philippines, and has also tapped television and radio personality Joyce Pring to be the Ambassador for Brigada Pagbasa.

“Literacy, most especially among the children and youth, is one of the key factors that determines how well a country progresses in this rapidly-changing world. We have an unfortunate reality where some Filipinos, both young and old, are still struggling with their literacy skills,” World Vision – Philippines executive director Rommel Fuerte said.

Basic literacy rate among Filipinos remains high at 97.95 percent, next to Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia, according to the 2016 United Nations Human Dvelopment Report.

The literacy rate is 98.9 percent among females and 97 percent among males aged 15-24.

While the literacy rate showed the country’s improvement from the past years, there is still a staggering number of children in the country who face literacy challenges. The remaining gap reflected in the said study shows that more work must be done to address this pressing issue.

“To become literate is an important component in the development of children, especially in this fast-paced, technology-driven age. Brigada Pagbasa aims to unleash the potential in every child,”Fuerte said.

Brigada Pagbasa will fully commence this November in several communities across the Philippines to teach everyone the value of reading.

“This campaign is a lifelong commitment for all of us, perhaps, until every child receives an opportunity to be educated and to develop his or her full potential,” Fuerte said.

World Vision is a global Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.