Students of Fort Aguinaldo Elementary School 'welcome' their guest from AHON Foundation with a song number.

MANILA, Philippines —  Even bad weather was not enough to dampen the spirits of Fort Aguinaldo Elementary School (FAES) as they welcomed the launching of their newly-refurbished library with much joy and enthusiasm last Nov. 10. As one of the teachers said, “The rain is but another blessing pouring unto us”.

The newly-adopted library of the Acts of Hope for the Nation (AHON) Foundation is located at the heart of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. This is the foundation’s 38th adopted public elementary school library since it began as the corporate foundation of Filway Marketing, Inc. in 2006. The students of the school are mostly children of our hard-working soldiers and military personnel who are tasked to even sacrifice their own lives for the sake of our country.

The school boasts of a secure and scenic environment, albeit lacking in educational resources. Mrs. Wilma Masigan, the FAES principal, says of the situation of the library, “The books we had are already old and outdated. We were really glad that AHON Foundation decided to help us. Tuwang-tuwa ang mga bata sa mga libro, ang gaganda. I really hope to make Fort Aguinaldo Elementary School as a center of learning inside the camp.”

Last Oct. 27, AHON Foundation delivered P500,000 worth of Time-Life books to FAES. Together with its teachers and some parent volunteers, AHON set up the package that is composed of highly interactive and graphic set of reference books. These books consist of Science books, English learning books, and Math books suitably designed for grade school pupils to enhance their reading competencies and skills.

Quezon City Representative Bolet Banal personally endorsed the school to AHON Foundation, the representatives of the Parent-Teacher Association, and the community.

Harvey Keh, president and executive director of AHON Foundation said: “We only have one wish for our partner schools, what our chairman, Mr. Hector Tagaysay constantly says, na makita naming nasisira ang libro dahil nangangahulugan na ginagamit at binabasa ang mga ito”. Keh added that AHON would be more than willing to replace books that are worn-out due to being used extensively by the students.

The newest library of FAES is beautifully painted with colorful murals, making it conducive to reading and learning. To express their appreciation, the young pupils serenaded the audience who witnessed the launching. The pupils also brought a smile to everyone as their faces glowed with wonder and awe, flipping through the books of possibilities and learning.

As part of its effort to reach more public elementary school libraries all over the country, AHON is currently raising funds by selling AHON Christmas cards. Each set of three Christmas cards cost only P300.00. Proceeds will help the foundation provide more books to public elementary schools.

If you believe in providing hope to every Filipino child, you can partner with us in bringing more books and resources to public elementary school libraries all throughout the country. AHON aims to increase literacy among Filipino elementary school students through libraries and books. For more information, contact (+63-2) 434-1458 or visit website at http://www.ahonfoundation.com.

The author is currently the program officer of AHON Foundation.