Back On The Road
From left to right, the courtesy visit was attended by Nurse Queen Zabala, Dr. Cristina Espino, AGFI President Emelina Almario, Mayor Alex Acuzar, AGFI Executive Director Con Estrella, and AGFI Program Coordinator Pia Cervero.
Adarna Group Foundation, Inc. Resumes Community Visits And Presents Step By Step Program To Samal LGU
Two years after in-person activities and trips were halted because of COVID-19, Adarna Group Foundation, Inc. finally resumed its partner community visits last August 3, 2022. Its first stop was Samal, Bataan—the last municipality the foundation went to before the pandemic.
Step by Step in Samal
Accompanied by municipal health officer Dr. Cristina Espino and Nurse Queen Zabala, Adarna Group Foundation, Inc. made a courtesy visit and presented its Step by Step program to Mayor Alex Acuzar.
Step by Step is a local government unit-based approach designed to develop the habit of reading and love for books of young Filipino learners, starting from prenatal period until preschool age. Its goal is to address the 90% learning poverty rate in the Philippines or the inability of nine out of ten Filipino children to read a simple text by age 10.
The foundation aims to integrate two program components, Unang Isang Libong Araw and Unang Aklat, into the existing health care systems of Samal. This way, more parents and health care providers are capacitated on the aspects of early health and nutrition, early stimulation, and early reading of children without major adjustments or changes on the end of the municipality.
AGFI Executive Director Con Estrella led the Step by Step program presentation.
Mayor Commits Support
After the presentation, Mayor Acuzar was convinced: the promotion of early reading must continue in Samal. He vowed to strengthen the 9-year partnership between the municipality and the foundation, as well as to support the Step by Step program.
Adarna Group Foundation, Inc. is excited to be back in Samal. Moving forward, it hopes to bring in the other program components—Mahilig kaming Magbasa and Handang Magbasa—and reach more learning partners until every Samaleño child is a reader.