The Natalged a Lasam Reading and Storytelling Caravan uses materials with animal themes to engage young constituents.

Edited January 28, 2023

After the Session 1 pilot in Alannay and Callao last year, the Local Government Unit of Lasam is bringing the Natalged a Lasam Reading and Storytelling Caravan to more barangays this 2023. The Caravan kicked off in Callao on November 26, 2022 and Alannay on December 3. Mayor Dante Dexter A. Agatep himself read some pages of a storybook to school children in Alannay on the day before his 50th birthday.

The Natalged a Lasam Storytelling and Reading Caravan is LGU-Lasam's own response to a recent World Bank study on learning poverty that identified Philippines as among the poorest in Asia in terms of reading ability. Learning poverty is defined as the percentage of children aged 10 who cannot read or understand a simple story. This is evident with the reported dismal performance among elementary pupils of Lasam, post Covid-19 pandemic.

The Caravan aims to engender the interest of the participants in reading—a basic literacy skill—by conducting storytelling sessions.

Facilitated by a tandem of a reading specialist and a storyteller, each storytelling and reading session will be an intensive, interactive, and technology-aided learning opportunity.

The organizers, who are literacy and reading advocates, intend to engage learners and stir their imagination with animated characters and stories relatable among children.

Only 15 pupils per grade will participate in two separate sessions, and will culminate in a final session with a living book speaker to inspire participants in their quest for knowledge.

The Caravan is conducted as a literacy development undertaking towards the establishment of Natalged Library and Youth Development Center, wherein storybooks will be provided. A book report and reading chain mechanism will be used to determine the outcome of the Caravan.

With three sessions per barangay, the Caravan will also initiate young constituents on the use of the community library that LGU-Lasam is putting up in 2023.

Both the reading and storytelling caravan, and the establishment of the community library and youth center, are geared towards the Natalged a Lasam Development Goal Pillars (NLDGPs) for Academic Excellence and Access to Health and Social Welfare programs.

The Caravan is upon the initiative of SB Lilibeth Barut-del Rosario, Chairperson of  Committee on Women, Family, and Social Welfare, who is an educator, and a reading advocate herself.

The Municipal Health and Nutrition Office will also participate in the Caravan as this is a "feeding the body and mind" community development program. #

– Alfred Ursua