Lipsticks today, books to follow

Why is the education secretary, Br. Armin Luistro FSC, talking lipstick these days, even dropping lines like “Nail polish is the new lipstick”? What has gotten into him that he has this new vocabulary?

In a brief conversation before the Senate’s final hearing on the Department of Education budget last Nov. 25, Brother Armin tried to hold back tears as he told me in a very emotional tone what it was like visiting Leyte after “Yolanda.”  He felt very much for the homeless there, wondering how and where to begin rebuilding lives.

The DepEd, knowing there is no time to waste, is starting in the best way it knows how. Brother Armin has encouraged his teachers to quickly restore normalcy in the lives of displaced children. Gathering the children every day in an improvised covered area, following a semblance of a school schedule, is a crucial beginning for the students who in all likelihood, are still trying to make sense of the disaster that has wrought havoc on their lives.  Even the very act of clearing the area with the students is a valuable shared community activity and a step toward normalcy.

And what about the teachers who may themselves be displaced? Brother Armin is sensitive to their own needs and knows that they must also be prepared to resume teaching.  That is why he was heartened by the sight of a teacher who was all made up, lipstick and all—standing out in the midst of the devastation. The teacher said she needed to put on makeup to feel good about herself and the situation. And what a ray of sunshine her physical appearance brought.

That encounter, and Brother Armin’s quick research into the Great Depression in America when women were reported to have taken extra efforts to improve the mood of the times by focusing on their physical appearance, led to his lipstick crusade. He even distributes lipsticks to his teachers. I had no time to ask him what brand and what color he hands out.

Another important shared concern of the DepEd and the National Book Development Board is building up a library collection for the children and the affected public schools. As soon as images and news of the damaged school buildings were posted, many of us thought of books for the children. That thought may seem incongruous at a time when communities are in dire need of the basic needs for survival, but in any case, the most immediate response in terms of book donations came, not surprisingly, from Gigo Alampay, head and founder of Canvas (Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development), a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 and seeking to promote Philippine art and culture. Canvas is also a publishing company that runs a yearly story-writing contest. (The contest rules stipulate that each story must be based on an art work.) Its titles are few and far between, but are distinguished by their high quality of narration and art work. I conveniently refer to Canvas as the publisher of coffee table books for children.  There are free downloadable versions on its website (www.canvas.ph).

I had been in communication with Alampay because I was very interested in Canvas’ big dream of distributing 100,000,000 books to children all over the country in the next five to 10 years. In 2011, it began to publish soft-cover editions of some of its stories, to be distributed directly to children in poor communities and schools.

What is the significance of this effort? A book often turns out to be the very first to be owned by the beneficiary, and with the exceptional art and original stories, it is hoped that the child will be enticed to read and to have a pleasant introduction to a reading habit. The rest of the family members may also be exposed to what a reading experience is all about.

With research showing that early exposure to reading increases the chance  for school success, this first-book project is valuable.  So far, Canvas has distributed 30,000 books all over the country.

In the wake of Yolanda, Alampay’s first thought was: Why not a book for the children at Christmastime when they would be in relief centers or in homes that have adopted them?  He has launched a drive online and, to match the donors’ P116,485.50, Canvas has contributed P100,000. Thus, 4,500 children will get a Christmas present of a full-color, brand-new book during the holidays.

Meanwhile, The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Inc. in Manila headed by Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo is putting together a kit similar to the Hurricane “Katrina” gift package for children, made up of a book, a blanket, and a flashlight.

The DepEd Library Hubs in Leyte were also badly damaged by Yolanda. The initial news was that the large plastic storage bins had been stolen but the books they contained were left behind. Still, book donations will be essential to put the children’s schools on the road to normalcy. The NBDB in partnership with the DepEd and other organizations want to do this right so that these books are truly used.

Neni Sta. Romana Cruz ([email protected]) is chair of the National Book Development Board,  a trustee of Teach for the Philippines, and a member of the Eggie Apostol Foundation.