Miss Earth 2015 kicks off Inquirer Read-Along’s 10th anniversary

Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong reads a book to students of Saluysoy Central School in Meycauayan, Bulacan province, during the Inquirer-Read Along program. —ELOISA LOPEZ

Talents are for sharing.

This was the message of Miss Earth 2015 Angelia Ong to over 1,000 students during the Inquirer Read-Along program at Saluysoy Central School in Meycauayan, Bulacan province, on Jan. 27.

Friday’s session, which kicked off the Inquirer Read-Along’s 10th anniversary, saw the biggest number of participants in a single session since the program began in 2007.

A returning storyteller, Ong read Jenny Evans’ “Gaya’s Gift,” about a young carabao which discovers its “special gift” after comparing its abilities with that of its animal friends’.

“You can take inspiration from others but you don’t have to be exactly like them,” Ong said. “You must be appreciative of yourself because each one has a purpose that can be relied on someday.”

Ong, the third Filipina to win the international title, said everyone could relate to the young carabao’s dilemma. “It’s about finding one’s self and it is important to appreciate whatever talents you have.”

When aspiring beauty queens would ask her advice, she said she would tell them that there’s nothing wrong about emulating other beauty queens, as long as “you remain to be as authentic as you are.”

She also talked about the value of reading as an effective learning tool not just in school but in whatever career the students would pursue in the future.

The session was the ninth year of partnership with Sophia School’s Adopt-a-Kid program, an outreach initiative of junior high school students to less privileged pupils from public schools in the city.

Sophia School teachers Doray Carable, Ellie dela Vega, Lorna Darilag and Osang dela Vega performed a fun-filled retelling of Rene Villanueva’s “Tiktaktok at Pikpakbum,” about two dog brothers that learned the value of sharing.

The students were also entertained by Sophia School’s Terpsichoreans dance troupe and the Spins and Swirls Poi Club.

Hosted by Junior Inquirer editor Ruth Navarra-Mayo and Sophia School principal Ann Abacan, Friday’s session was conducted in partnership with Sed Genecera of Miss Earth Foundation, Café Nenzo, Flamebridge Publications and Metrobank (Sta. Maria, Bulacan branch).

Launched on May 7, 2007, the Inquirer Read-Along program aims to combat the declining readership among students by encouraging children to get into reading at a young age in order to build a nation of readers that is vital in building a nation of leaders.

In the past decade, over 20,000 children ages 7 to 13 from more than 50 cities nationwide have joined the sessions, which featured over 400 celebrities and role models as storytellers.

The next session will be held on Feb. 10 at Saint Alphonsus Liguori Integrated School in Bacoor, Cavite. Interested schools and sponsors may contact Minerva Generalao at (02) 8978808 loc. 346 or e-mail at [email protected].