This article was printed in the youth section of Cebu Daily News on February 24, 2012. Posting this as a background article before I write about The Basadours tomorrow (14 January 2014).
The love affair started with a tabloid newspaper written in Cebuano. It was the year 1996. My grandparents, both seafood vendors at the Mandaue City Public Market, introduced me to the paper. “Everything is shortened there but you get a preview of everything that is happening in Cebu,” my Lola Patring told me.
And so at eight years old, I eagerly waited for a copy of the tabloid every night. My grandparents will arrive at 10 p.m. and I will immediately ask Lolo Dado of the day’s issue. I developed the habit of (speed) reading the front page first—wondering how fast reporters get all the details of a story in so short a time—then hurriedly flipped through the inside pages to check out “Tambagi Ko Noy Kulas.” Through the newsprint, I was introduced to Ernesto Lariosa and because of him, I now have this overwhelming pride in being a Bisdak. I would giggle at the writings of Myke Obenieta and I again wonder how one man can expertly use words in creating a masterpiece.
In my elementary years, I fell inlove with William Shakespeare. My Mom thought I was weird when I started spewing romantic lines from “Romeo and Juliet.” Then I started reading about Science. The medulla oblongata and the pituitary gland interested me that much that I ended up writing “I want to be a pediatrician” in my elementary program.
I got the customary kantiyaw—and occasional praises—in high school when I made encyclopedia books as my novels. I was so enamoured by world history that at 15 (then), I felt I knew Egypt and the Catal Huyuk (in Turkey) civilization for centuries. Napoleon Bonaparte was my best friend. Of course, I got hooked to the Harry Potter series and yes, I read Tagalog pocketbooks. I was drawn to the stories of men with broad shoulders, who melt in the presence of some peasant woman they call their “beloved.”
And oh, I read the Bible from Genesis down to Revelation. For me, it was a storybook. Genesis was amusing to me. I love the way the world was created. 1 Corinthians take on love is an all-time favorite. And Revelation, for a time, scared me to death (so scared that I had to ask my Mama to introduce me to a priest who can explain the writings to me).
So I was that young lady. I read anything. That proved to be helpful in my university life, where my course (and my professors) expected me to be updated of the world’s happenings, trends and issues. Visiting the ancient library of University of the Philippines Cebu College was primarily about reading newspapers. I learned about Cebu Daily News from there (where I later had my internship and my first job as a reporter).
Honestly, I am not one who takes note of the authors of the books I read. I rather remember the stories. But in between required readings and the addiction to newspapers, I was introduced to contemporary writers Nicholas Spaks, Paolo Coelho and Mitch Albom. Classmates and friends and the media kept repeating their names, redundancy makes you remember, that’s true.
Madame Mayette Tabada, my journalism teacher in UP, once told our class that to be good reporters and writers, we should be good readers. She told us to read “bisan ang newspaper nga giputos sa buwad.” CDN publisher Eileen Mangubat fed me with business articles (to read, of course) when I was a full-time reporter for the paper. These articles helped me understand the complicated world of business and economics, which I was privileged to cover for close to three years. Connie Fernandez, my Inquirer editor (and then CDN editor in chief), constantly remind me not to lose the heart for writing one inspiring story after the other. “People read those stories. You have no idea how much impact those stories will have on them. So write your stories well.”
While I still churn out stories on a weekly basis, I now work as a full-time development worker. In this work, reading is important. For hours, I would read about massage training for a project we are building for a community in Southern Leyte. I learned the agricultural details about peanuts by reading. I acquainted myself on seaweed farming and abalone growout for various projects we monitor and (soon) implement. When typhoon Sendong hit Cagayan De Oro and Iligan, I read about the geography of Region 10 to better position myself in the relief operations of the Philippine Business for Social Progress there. I read about strategic corporate-community partnerships so I can contribute in bringing about local development.
I believe reading is a very practical habit. It is a habit that every person should cultivate regardless of profession and ambition. This is why I chose to be part of The Basadours, a group of volunteer storytellers that aim to build a culture of reading especially among children. We believe that reading is a tradition that should never be forgotten.
On February 25, we will be launching our first project “I Love to Read.” We are organizing this with the Cebu City Public Library. With this initiative, we hope to invite volunteers who can help us in reaching the different barangays in Cebu to tell stories to the children using non-traditional approaches including read along, read aloud, puppet shows, role playing, etc. We still don’t have funds but we’re looking forward to a barrage of support from people, friends and organizations who know that this is not a fly-by-night advocacy.
We would like to make these children realize that reading should not be stereotyped as the “activity of the nerds.” We show this by example. The Basadours is composed of lawyers, teachers, nurses, librarians among others, who are living examples that reading helps build the person that you will be in the future.
Personally, I’d like the children to fall inlove with reading, the way that tabloid influenced me to be the proud Cebuana and Filipino that I am now. I hope to influence them to believe that reading is living.
