Igniting the flame of knowledge

A few years ago, I visited the public elementary school in my hometown, Dueñas, Iloilo in the Philippines. Although I did not study there (I went to a school in a neighboring town), the school was close to my heart because my mother was one of the teachers there. Inside the library, I immediately noticed that there were very few books, mostly textbooks and old encyclopedias. None of them were children’s books.

The idea of not having books to read for leisure was unacceptable to me. Moreover, I am a big believer in reading as an effective way of improving one's vocabulary and comprehension while also learning life skills and problem solving through vicarious experiences. 

Inspired by Fahrenheit 451, a beloved book by Ray Bradbury about a society that outlawed reading and burned books, I decided to do the opposite of what happened in that book and called for book donations. I came up with the project title easily -- 451 backwards is 154 --Project 154!

Here I am with Cosplay.ph during their Christmas
party/ book donation drive for Project 154

The response to my call was overwhelming! I remember picking up boxes and boxes of books from friends’ homes. (Once, I accidentally got locked inside the bathroom of one of the donors during a donation pick-up. Of course, the incident  was more hilarious than scary.) Some people handed books to me during get-togethers. Boxes of books were also shipped directly to my parents’ house in Iloilo. Bookstore gift certificates were given to me so that we could buy new books. One organization turned their Christmas party into a book donation drive. Help also came in the form of logistics, storage and covering shipping fees. 

Suddenly, what had I initially thought would be a small donation drive became an international cause. It was almost unbelievable. Books were sent by friends and friends of friends from the U.S.! A friend from the U.K. created posters to promote the project online. He also came up with our slogan, “Igniting the flame of knowledge”. 

Two of the many posters created by my friend Steve

My heart was filled with joy every single time help came in every way!

After a book donation pick-up from Jme

The quality of the books donated to the Project was excellent. It was quite a cornucopia of fiction I had devoured and relished in my childhood. When I saw the titles and authors, I time traveled back to my childhood. Once again, I was that grade schooler who buried her nose in books at the school library during breaks. Narnia! Nancy Drew! The Hardy Boys! The Lord of the Rings! Robinson Crusoe! The Berenstain Bears! A Series of Unfortunate Events! Neil Gaiman! C.S. Lewis! Lucy Maud Montgomery! Ray Bradbury! Scott O’Dell! 

Aside from fiction books, we also received textbooks on different subjects ranging from basic biology to programming.

As I look back on these memories, I couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. Project 154 not only made it possible to bring children’s books to the children in that school to ignite the flame of knowledge, but also kept the flame of unity and compassion among those who helped.

The final result: more than 1,000 books delivered to the school. Look at those smiles!

I was scared when....

Yesterday's speaker in our Storytelling for Results (PR Writing) class gave us some advice:

1. Read good writing; and,

2. Write bad writing (i.e., Be willing to).

The point is, JUST WRITE.

Following the lecture was a "Write Bad Writing" activity. We were tasked to write by starting with "I was scared when....". We had less than five minutes to write, but it was a really good activity. Here's my output:

I was scared when I had to pack all of my most valuable belongings in just two suitcases before moving to the U.S. I was sure that I would not lack for anything, but there was a sense of security in having all of my belongings that I had accumulated through the years and suddenly had to leave in the Philippines.

To quote Olive Snook in Pushing Daisies, “But I like my belongings. That's why they belong to me.”

When I moved here, however, I realized that owning only two suitcases of things gave me a different kind of sense of security, recognizing that I didn’t need a lot to have what I have now.

"Better Together" in Washington state