Reading volunteers get bikes for schooling

By BEVERLY C. PAOYON ALABEL, Sarangani (May 24, 2012) - Seventeen “Sarangani Big Brother: Reading is Fun!” volunteers each received a bike, shoes, bag with tumbler and school supplies and a helmet from Bikes for the Philippines (BfP) at the kick-off program of LBC Ronda Pilipinas Wednesday (May 23) at the Capitol grounds. The recipient volunteers were the top 17 out of 72 applicants who are most in dire need of bicycle in going to school. Applicants were asked to write an essay on why they deserved to be given a bicycle. The 17 youth volunteers were part of a localized intervention to revolutionize basic primary education in Sarangani. BfP, in partnership with Synergia Foundation, a non-government organization, donated the bikes to those who volunteered as big brothers and sisters of the Sarangani Big Brother (SBB) reading class held every summer. BfP is a non-profit charitable and educational program established to help trim down drop-out rates of school children by giving a bicycle to ease the difficulty in going to school. Annalie Edday, Quality Education for Sarangani Today program manager, said the confirmation of the winners was arrived at after tedious screening that validated the dire need among these youths for a bicycle. She said the youths belong to families usually comprised of five members and earning below the minimum income. These kids have been “walking three or more kilometers” in going to school, Edday said. She said further “reading their essays breaks our hearts… if we can just give bikes to all of them. I understand how they desire for bicycles because of the distance of their homes from school.” Meanwhile, SBB reported a fourfold increase of kids attending remedial reading classes this summer since it was launched in 2008. Edday revealed statistics indicating the significant hike of graduates among incoming Grades 2 and 3 pupils who can hardly read from 2,028; to 3,728; 4,599; 7,63, and 8,935 since year 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. Alongside the reported increase, Edday confirmed the mentors’ evaluation that Sarangani Big Brother (SBB) had actually improved “reading and comprehension” of these kids although consolidation of results of the post-test given to students before SBB ended simultaneously in all of its seven component municipalities is still underway. SBB is a 15-day remedial reading program held every summer to prepare kids identified as slow readers and with less comprehension skills to the next school year. Jessa–ann Diel, a Grade 2 teacher at Malungon Central School, noted the improvement in the reading skills of her pupils despite the limited 15-day period provided in SBB. She said it was difficult at first to handle reading sessions as there were those that could hardly read “but time by time and because also of the help of the volunteers their reading skills eventually have improved.” “Youth volunteers have also significantly increased in number this year”, Edday said. From the 771 last year, the number has increased to 1,533 in 2012. SBB started with only 680 youth volunteers in 2008. The number of teachers had also improved to 21 percent from last year’s record. Edday said “it has been proven that community participation is a crucial component for the success of a public school in the Philippines.” “When the school’s community comprised of parents, barangay leaders, NGOs, the private sector, residents, and other actors present in a local area is actively involved and committed to transforming the state of education, the results are often transformative,” Edday said. For more news and updates, please visit the Province of Sarangani . (Beverly C. Paoyon/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)