What Cebu City Jail inmates did to help Oppra students to develop reading skills

Personnel of the Cebu City Jail Male Dormitory, through the participation of some inmates there, donate the Art-van/Learning Kiosk with Mini Library to the Oprra National High School on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Reading is a way to a better learning experience.

This is what Jeda Toreteo, a Grade 7 student of Oprra National High School, has said following the turn-over of the “mini-library” project of the Cebu City Jail Male Dormitory on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. This mini library was made out of a dilapidated van where inmates, themselves, did the repair and design for its reuse.

Toreteo is among the thousands of students of Oprra National High School, who are excited to benefit from the books that groups and private individuals donated through the Donate a Book campaign of the Cebu City Jail,  as part of their 11th Community Relations Service Month celebration this June.

A variety of books are placed in this mini-library and some will be placed in the school’s library.

“Mas malinang nako ang akoang learning experiences and naa mi opportunities nga makaexcell sa amoang learning and makaunderstand mi sa amoang lessons…I want to be a lawyer, mao na ang nakapainspire sa akoa nga magread pa og books,” Toreteo said.

(Our learning experiences will be more refined, and we have opportunities to excel in our learning and we can understand our lessons…I want to be a lawyer, that is what inspired me to read more books.)

READ: Cebu City Jail male dormitory launches ‘Donate a Book Campaign’

Deprived, depressed, and underserved

‘Deprived’, ‘depressed’, and ‘underserved’, this was how people described Oprra National High School. However, Dr. Remelda Egano, assisting principal of Oprra National High School, said that their school had improved and that they expected that this mini library would further improve the reading habits of their students there.

“Amoang eskwelahan gitawag gyud ni sya og deprived, depressed, and underserved. Karon nga nakita ninyo, we have so much transformation sa among school,” Egano said.

(Our school has been really called deprived, depressed and underserved. Now that you have seen it, we have so much transformation in our school.)

She said that this would be a crucial aid as they would also have a reading program for all their students.

” Reading habits actually, karon maingon nako nga marecognize na kay we have project here sa among English department, ang reading program. Sakto ra gyud ang ilang gihatag nga naa silay mini library nga makatagam sa among estudyante sa ilang eagerness to learn and read,” she added.

(Reading habits, actually, now, we can say that these have been recognized because we have the project of our English department, the reading program. It is just right what they give that they have this mini library that our students can experience their eagerness to learn and read.)

Earlier, Jail Officer (JO3) Blanche Aliño said they came up with the idea of collecting book donations and giving an old van a facelift as a means to promote reading among the youth and to establish rapport with the community.

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