“The education of our youth is a shared responsibility. The government can only do so much, and I believe that the society can do so much more than sit and criticize. It is more productive to pool our resources and do whatever we can to help ensure that no child is indeed left behind. Reading and comprehension skills have an encompassing effect on one’s academic and personal development. When we invest on literacy at the most crucial time of a child’s learning, we change a child’s prospects from limited to limitless. Learning interventions like the BINHI literacy program allows underprivleged children to gain good ground to learn well and help themselves succeed, with their ability to read.
My dream is for our BINHI classes to be passed on and touch the lives of every member of our scholars’ families — from the siblings to the parents. We would also love to see a BINHI class in every public school in the country.”
“Reading skills have become MORE relevant in our ever advancing world. While technology provides a new and faster delivery system for communication, the content or substance of the material remains paramount. Having the critical and analytical skills to judge the quality of content, which impacts the soundness of our decision-making, becomes more important than ever before. To hone judgement and critical thinking, there is no substitute for reading, and most of all, reading with comprehension.
My dream is for BINHI to be instrumental in developing a love of reading in all Filipinos. The current age of instant gratification and intellectual laziness has resulted in many people being taken in by fake news and “alternative facts” delivered through snappy sound bites, memes and GIFs — with disastrous effects on their ability to make rational decisions. The only way to combat this is for Filipinos to develop a love of reading, so that they can expose themselves to the best ideas of humanity and thereby develop more discerning judgement, in turn leading to wiser choices and improved lives.”
“Education broadens the world of a child in so many ways. Aside from the cognitive benefits that education provides, children also get exposed to attitudes and skills that will later serve as stepping stones for a more successful life. These attitudes include confidence, perseverance, flexibility, and being proactive, avmong others. Skills, such as being able to communicate effectively, multi-tasking, and leadership potential, are honed through the guidance of education.”
As an active advocate for adoption and for the rights of the disabled, my focus is in having an education system that is flexible enough to cater to learners who have unusual backgrounds, or have physical, mental or emotional limitations that affect their learning. The desire to learn has to be stoked and rewarded by empathetic teachers, tutors and classmates in order for the child to get in the habit of learning.
“Literacy has a vital role in reducing poverty. It helps people acquire and develop the skills they need to improve their living conditions. Literacy equips individuals with competencies that will increase their opportunities. It empowers them to make effective and more appropriate decisions as a result of a better understanding of realities. Thus, literacy can break the vicious cycle of poverty. It is my fervent hope that Binhi English Literacy Foundation, Inc. sustains its growth so it can fully achieve its philanthropic goals of improving education and social well-being of children.”