Wednesday, June 5, 2013

PUSONG PINOY BOOKS REACHES ILOCOS SUR


The Church of La Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion and its bell tower, located in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites listed in 1993. Apart from this impressive 300-year-old church, Santa Maria is also home to a beautiful stretch of beach. But despite its beauty, library facilities in its public elementary schools are still not up to standard.

In its efforts to uplift literacy standards of Filipino children, Pusong Pinoy included Santa Maria’s Maynganay Elementary School in its list for screening and assessment. A visit from Pusong Pinoy representative, CTL Ningning Doble, revealed that the children in this school are taught by good teachers and guided by a persevering and hard-working principal, Mrs. Elizabeth Racca. The school has a library facility but a very small collection of books – most of which are outdated and not the type of books that children would pick up to read.  Despite the lack of reading materials, the students are performing well.  With more books, they will perform even better, especially with Mrs. Racca's plan for a reading program in which the children can enjoy the books in school and at home through book lending activities.

In June, Pusong Pinoy donated 465 beautifully-illustrated books to the school.  The books were well-received by the teachers, parents and children as they rummaged through the wonderful collection.
 
To all the HEROES who went out of their way to collect and donate these books, here is a message from the school principal: “We received two boxes of books containing reading materials from Pusong Pinoy. The Teaching Staff of Maynganay Elementary School, the Parents Teachers Association, the barangay officials, the pupils, and myself, extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the staff of Pusong Pinoy and to all of you who are supporting this organization for granting our request. Mabuhay ang Pusong Pinoy!”

*For book donations, please email us at pusongpinoyorg@gmail.com.