| Article Index |
|---|
| Books and a Whole Lot of Heart |
| Page 2 |
| Page 3 |
| All Pages |
Books for the Barrios reaches out to Filipino school children across the seas.
IT took a while before I finally got the chance to sit down with Nancy Harrington, President and Executive Director of Books for the Barrios. Exchanging e-mails for almost a month, Nancy insisted that I go to their warehouse and see their operations, instead of doing the interview over the phone. And when I did, I realized how important it was to be there.
For 24 years, Nancy and her husband, Dan Harrington ran Books for Barrios from an old warehouse in Concord. Founded in 1981 by US Navy families who were stationed in the Philippines, the program at present has distributed millions of books throughout the Philippines, built school libraries, trained teachers and established 46 "Model of Excellence" schools.
To children, from children
There was a field trip that day, Nancy said. It was the perfect time for me to see how they operate. I was preparing myself for the usual "kids’ tour," but as the children from Green Elementary School in Dublin arrived, Nancy made sure that they know and understand what the project is all about. In fact, it was all about the Philippines, and Filipino children – something that even the average Fil-Am kid may never learn in his school.
Nancy explained, "You know, our mission is to empower American children to think globally, and act right in their own frame of reference." Which was why the field trip included the line, "Just like us," from the children, a mantra for them to understand that Filipino kids, regardless of their race and status, act and need education too.
Books for the Barrios ships out 40-foot containers at 4-6 week intervals. They receive donations for not just books, but also other school stuff, toys and clothes. "We go through all of these to be sure that they don’t send any American—no American history, no American geography, because we don’t want to colonize. Some of the corrupt politicians we’re trying to colonize these children," said Nancy and added, "We don’t take encyclopedias older than 1985. National geographic is the only magazine that we take. We are always looking for Pentium 3 and 4 working computers. So we have those that we pack with stuffed toys."
She also explained that book donations mainly come from publishers and school districts. "But the best books that we get are from children themselves, the children who come in here." Not only that, as children who visit them at the warehouse also get a different experience. Aside from Nancy’s stories about the Philippines and the Filipino children, the school children get to pack the books in boxes, have them sealed and write/draw a message on the box. It was, indeed, a learning experience not only for them, but also for us adults—teachers and parents.
| Comments |
|
3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
