Reading Experiences Matter: AGFI and CLAFI towards a Reading Ready Community
“Ang batang nakababasa, nakaiintindi.”
This was the message from Ryan S. Vidanes, the executive director of Conrado and Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation Inc. (CLAFI), to open the session “Eager Reader Learning Session: Reading Experiences Matter” held in General Santos City, South Cotabato. His words echo the long-term vision of the workshop: to create a community of readers.
A few months back, CLAFI visited Adarna Group Foundation, Inc. (AGFI) to explore possible partnership opportunities in line with their current advocacy of championing early childhood care and development in Sarangani and General Santos City. They came with a clear sense of purpose, bringing with them hope and a vision for their community. CLAFI was intentional about their goal: to help advance education by focusing on the formative years of children, where strong foundations in learning begin. To achieve this, they must solidify the foundations of literacy and begin by capacitating the educators who help build foundational learning skills in children. Delighted with this opportunity, AGFI offered to bring their learning session to the province.
Because AGFI firmly believes in the advocacy of this partnership, they curated a workshop that best fits the needs of the community and the vision of their partner organization. Through the session titled “Eager Reader Learning Session: Reading Experiences Matter”, CDWs are taught effective strategies to develop a love for reading among children. To expand the program’s reach, CLAFI requested a Training of Trainers (TOT) format, allowing trained participants to share their learning with fellow educators in their localities.
The learning session took place from July 9 to 10, 2025, with topics focused on early literacy and reading readiness. For the first day of the workshop, two sessions were conducted: Effective Storytelling and Designing Story-based Activities. Recognizing the power of books for early stimulation and literacy, AGFI designed the training to help CDWs tell interactive stories and enhance these stories through holistic and developmentally appropriate activities. The CDWs engaged in hands-on activities that hone their storytelling skills and help them plan out activities after each storytelling session to maximize the students’ learning.
The second day of the learning session was designed to raise reading-ready children. For the first part, Teacher Micah Del Mundo tackled understanding reading readiness skills focused on foundational concepts of reading, such as phonological awareness, print awareness, vocabulary, and oral language development. Teacher Micah emphasized the importance of oral language and listening as precursors to reading, stating that reading starts with listening and that through speaking, children are able to express their ideas.
“Speaking is a skill that allows them to express ideas.”
The final session, led by Teacher Michelle Agas, introduced participants to the importance of creating and using early literacy materials. She demonstrated how simple tools—such as circle time charts, picture cards, and interactive games—can promote language and literacy development. Teacher Michelle also emphasized that reading is more than decoding:
“The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension.”
Distribution of big books and picture books
As part of the two-day workshop, AGFI and CLAFI distributed big books, picture books, and posters that they can use for their classrooms. At the end of the workshop, the participants gratefully acknowledged how the learning sessions brought new ideas that they can apply to their students and share with their co-teachers. As the workshop ended, Ms. April Mae Domingo, Senior Program Officer for Education of CLAFI, reminded everyone:
“Let us all be a channel of blessing to everyone,”
a reminder that although they came to the workshop as learners, they were now bearers of knowledge and that the knowledge they now held could be shared and create change among their community.
Moving ahead, AGFI and CLAFI wish to continue with the partnership and promise that this is only the beginning of some greater things ahead.
Let us bring communities together through reading! Partner with AGFI now, and together, let us make every Filipino child a reader.