ILOILO CITY – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) donated over P36-million worth of books on Thursday, Sept. 8, to selected schools in Western Visayas.
“We continue exploring avenues to ensure that the target two million learners can develop their full potential,” said USAID Philippines Resident Legal Officer Michelle McLeod during the ceremonial distribution in two schools here.
The distribution of the first batch of reading materials – wordless picture books, decodable books, listening books, and reading books in Filipino and the mother tongue such as Hiligaynon – at the Iloilo Central Elementary School and Montes II Elementary School was part of USAID’s Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines (ABC+ Project), a program run by the non-profit RTI International to improve reading, math, social skills, and emotional skills of kindergarten to Grade 3 pupils.
“This is in-sync with our regional mantra that every child is a champion. If we want our children to be champions, they must be prolific readers,” said Department of Education-Western Visayas Director Ramir Uytico.
The ABC+ project is also in partnership with the Asia Foundation, Florida State University, non-profit SIL LEAD, and DepEd-6.