The Sa Aklat Sisikat (SAS) Foundation uses a specially crafted 31 day "readathon" programme to enhance children's reading and comprehension in the Philippines.

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The Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation's current funding needs include:

PHP 6,000 ($130) provides a class of schoolchildren with 60 carefully selected new, locally-published children's storybooks. PHP 150,000 ($3,262) funds a Readathon, including a mobile library, teacher training, creative materials to encourage reading and a reading cart or area for children to continue to enjoy books after the Readathon has been completed.

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SAS provides mobile libraries to children in grade six to encourage participatory learning and challenge functional literacy. Creative materials including an "Ibong Adarna" (mythical bird) wall mural on which each student pastes a colored paper feather when a book has been read and "Reading Passports" in which children write about books they have read, help to expand analytical, critical thinking and writing skills.

SAS also offers training workshops to teachers and school Principals in order to re-energise their commitment to teaching and to enable them to strengthen their classrooms, schools and the Filipino educational sector as a wholeOur assessment:

Our assessment:

  • The reading programme is simple and effective at teaching children comprehension. It is recognised by the Filipino Department of Education and has already reached over 900,000 grade six students and 21,500 teachers.
  • Once the Readathon programme has been completed, libraries remain in the hands of each school so that the programme can be repeated.
  • The teacher training provided by SAS significantly re-motivates teachers. SAS insists that trained teachers and principals share their knowledge with an additional 25 teachers. This is an efficient viral approach that spreads training and best practice effectively and with no cost

Quick facts

Location: The Philippines
Sector: Children, Education, Social Welfare
Annual income: $241,954 (2009)
Annual expenditure: $242,551
Number of paid staff: 5
Registration: A2000018911
Date of most recent contact with Prospero: Field visit: Manila, February 2010