MANILA, Philippines—Study, work hard, follow your dreams.

Bugoy Drilon, second placer in this year’s reality talent search “Pinoy Dream Academy,” shared valuable advice and the story of his struggle to realize his dream during a special session of the Inquirer Read-Along held Friday at Baseco in Tondo, Manila.

Drawing a crowd of more than 500 children, Read-Along’s biggest audience yet, the session also marked the celebration of Children’s Month and International Day for Poverty Eradication.

Joining Drilon were Ms Philippines-Fire 2008 Ma. Kristelle Lazaro and storytellers Dyali Justo from Adarna, Ethel Ray Escasinas and Fatima Faith Gazmin, both from Alitaptap.

Lala Salanga, a volunteer teacher for the Edukasyon Kabalikat sa Kaunlaran (EKK) tutorial program, which augments the teaching of Baseco’s elementary school students, stressed the importance of the event: “Baseco is a microcosm of the state of poverty in the Philippines ... Most people here do not even have the ‘luxury’ to live in a shanty. People sleep on used tarpaulin.”

Salanga lamented the sad state of the children’s education at Baseco.

“I tutor Grade 5 and 6 pupils and they don’t know how to read properly. They also cannot add or subtract, much less multiply or divide,” she said.

She said the Read-Along session made a huge impact on the community because “it encouraged children to read.”

“Reading,” she stressed, “is the key to education which is the only way out of poverty.”

Scholar, singer

“Pinoy Dream Academy” alumnus, Drilon, 18, agreed.

“Before I joined the contest, I was a scholar at the University of Sta. Isabel in Naga City where I was taking up Food Service Institutional Studies Management. I worked in the canteen and the library to pay for my tuition,” he said.

Drilon, the son of a farmer, recalled singing to his carabao named “Goopy,” his lone audience until a friend, recognizing talent, encouraged him to join the local talent search.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

“A lot of things have changed. My family and I now live better,” he said. “However, I still want to continue my studies. I really want to graduate. Education is very important.”

Drilon read the story “Tight Times” by Jeanette Patindol. He ended his session with this advice: “You should study and work hard for your dreams. Kahit simpleng tao pwedeng mangarap (Even a simple man can dream).”

He surprised the audience by performing his hit single, “Paano na Kaya?” and the song “Angels Brought Me Here” by Guy Sebastian. Both numbers were much appreciated and well-applauded.

Eco tips

Beauty queen Lazaro read “Eco-defenders: Tagapagtanggol ng Kalikasan,” written by members of the Sustainable Energy Development Program (SEDP). While she read, Jerma Garcia, Jasper Elento and Ryan Sese, Grade 6 pupils of the Hermenegildo Atienza Elementary School (HAES), acted out the story using puppets.

The story focused on surviving tough times simply by following tips from the Eco-defenders: Save electricity, conserve water and practice the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle).

SEDP is a project of the United States Agency for International Development and the US Department of Energy.

The other stories focused on the importance of hard work. Justo read “Ang Mahiyaing Manok” by Rebecca Añonuevo while Alitaptap storytellers Escasinas and Gazmin did a tandem reading of “Si Langgam at si Tipaklong” a story retold by Alberta Angeles.

Lessons from stories

Barangay 649 Chair Kristo Hispano said the Read-Along session was valuable because children were able to appreciate the value of education.

For his part, HAES principal Emmanuel Soriano said the session helped “children realize that studying is not tiresome, but enjoyable.”

Reynaldo Sombrero, Grade 5 student of the Baseco Elementary School, said he learned a lot from the stories. “It is important to study, to save and to be patient,” he said.

“It’s good that children have been exposed to this kind of storytelling. They really enjoyed it!” said Kris Talinga, a kindergarten teacher from the Hope Foundation. “It is an effective method of [education] because kids are able to understand lessons told in the form of stories.”

Free books

The Inquirer Read-Along session was made possible through the cooperation of Barangay 649, HAES, United Nations-Manila’s Stand Up, Take Action Against Poverty campaign and Baseco Inter-Agency (Bian), a coalition of different nongovernmental organizations based in Baseco. Members of Bian include Edukasyon Kabalikat sa Kaunlaran (EKK), Open Heart Foundation, Lingap Kabataan Inc., ING Learning Center (ING), World Mission Community CARE (WMC) and HOPE Worldwide Philippines.

All books read were published by Adarna except for “Eco-defenders: Tagapagtanggol ng Kalikasan” which is published by SEDP.

All the children were given coloring books courtesy of Vibal and storybooks courtesy of Adarna, the NBS Foundation and donations from Inquirer employees.

Inquirer Read-Along was launched in May last year by the Inquirer Research Department, Library and the Junior Inquirer to promote the love of reading among children through storytelling sessions with celebrities and volunteer readers.

The next Read-Along session is on Oct. 25 at the Inquirer office in Makati and will feature pop duo MYMP. Interested participants may call Ellen Caparros or Girlie Refran at 897-8808, local 329. Slots are on a first-come, first-served basis.

With Lawrence de Guzman, Inquirer Research