Project Launch:

Inspiring a love of reading in children is critical to literacy and creative thinking. Studies have shown that unless children are first fluent in their mother tongue, they have difficulty mastering language and reading in other languages. In the community of Cebu, the main language is Visaya, yet there are few reading materials available in this language. This project will provide supplementary learning and reading materials in Visaya and in English to elementary schools across the district to help increase literacy and comprehension skills. Students from a local University will write children’s stories as part of a university writing competition, and the best stories will be selected for a book to be published and distributed to schools, libraries, and students. The stories will vary in content but include themes such as friendship, loyalty, and hygiene. Teachers will incorporate the books into curriculum and receive training from the university students on how to encourage their students to read independently.

Final Report: 9/17/2016

The book was published after three major revisions and reconfigurations. 3000 copies will be distributed to local villages (barangays) so that children and adults have access to a new source of written material in their mother tongue.

Testimonials

"The finished book is beautiful and a testament to the talent and creativity of the CTU-Tuburan students. This book will provide new stories for the entire community. Hopefully, it will inspire greater literacy and creativity in Tuburan and across Cebu." - Holly, Peace Corps Volunteer

"Students worked hard to write and illustrate their stories. They really learned with the writing and editing. Now we will share our stories with the community. Thank you, World Connect, for your support of our project." - Angen, Project Leader

"Our creative class was one of my favorite subjects ever in college - something I will never forget for the rest of my life." - Lovely, Project Participant