Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Democratizing Reading Among Mindanaoan Children (DReAM)

Those who dare, dream. And those who dare to dream, make a difference.

Democratizing Reading Among Mindanaoan Children (DReAM Children) is a project borne out of the advocacy towards reader development. The project brings together local government units and agencies, academic, socio-civic and business organizations as well as professional organizations and individuals for a partnership that intends to make readers of the children of Tampakan, Kiblawan and Columbio.

The DReAM Children project was first launched in Tampakan, South Cotabato in September of 2006 with the following as partners:

The Municipal Local Government (LGU) of Tampakan
Department of Education – Tampakan and South Cotabato
Rotary Club of Koronadal (The Rock)
NDMU - Books and Information Technology Society (BITS); and
Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI)

The project has since then distributed about 5,000 volumes of books and reading materials to all of Tampakan’s elementary schools and barangay reading centers; and has facilitated reading-mentoring activities and library skills and management trainings.

DReAM Children is looking at continuing and strengthening its Tampakan partnership this year with the Community Development Information Council (CDIC) joining in as one of the major partners; as SMI continues to provide logistical support primarily in the aspects of books acquisition and distribution, and training activities.

Major undertakings under the various components of the DReAM Children project include:

The showcasing of the Municipal Libraries of Tampakan, Kiblawan, and Columbio as model community libraries in the KITACO region by collaborating closely with partners in the local government, the academe professional and local socio-civic organizations, in refurbishing the facilities of the library, and in helping build up its collections; and

The strengthening of community/barangay reading centers and public elementary school libraries/learning centers through the extension of support to their collection-building activities and capability-building activities.

The viability of the above undertakings is bolstered by the existence of book-donating local and foreign agencies that have been networked by SMI through its consultants in the CLA-LRGA Department. Among these donor-organizations are: The Makati Rotary Club Foundation, The Asia Foundation, Philippine Social Science Council, and the National Library Board of Singapore.

On July 23, 2008, DReAM Children-Tampakan distributed for the second time books and materials for the 17 public elementary schools in Tampakan South Cotabato, the 14 Barangay Development Information Centers (BDICs) and the Tampakan Municipal Library. The initial book distribution activity was in 2006.

On October 3, 2008, DReAM is again set to distribute an average of 5-6 boxes of books containing over a hundred volumes of pre-reviewed books and teachers’ resource materials on Science, Mathematics, Reading and Language, Filipininiana short story books, dictionaries and maps to the thirty (30) public elementary schools in Kiblawan, Davao del Sur. (The DReAM Children Project in Kiblawan has the following for its partners: DepEd - Division of Davao Del Sur, Boy Scouts of the Philippines – Davao del Sur Council, Girl Scouts of the Philippines – Davao del Sur Council and the University of Mindanao Librarians Association, Sagittarius Mines)

Other future undertakings within the next 2-3 years include:

Continuous sourcing and distribution of books and other reading materials;

The conduct of periodic storytelling and library-based reading sessions in the different barangays of Kiblawan, Tampakan and Columbio in partnership with their respective municipal libraries.

Education and upgrading of reader development competencies of barangay reading centers-in-charge and school learning centers-in-charge through growth sessions, trainings and workshops; and

Promotion a “READ KITACO” campaign by way of contests -- poster-making, essay-writing, book cover design; Annual Summer Reading Festivals and by participating actively in the annual National Book Week activities.

By 2009, it is hoped that the collaborative undertakings under the DReAM Children partnerships will result in the establishment of functional learning centers in most elementary schools and barangays in the Kiblawan-Tampakan-Columbio area, with the established barangay reading centers having their own evolving reader development programs.


Visit daxiweida for more information on the DReAM initiative.

1 comment:

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