Nung bata pa ako, malinaw sa akin kung anong ibig sabihin ng Pasko.

“Birthday ni Jesus”, sabi ng papa ko sa akin noon. Eh bakit ako ang nakakatanggap ng regalo? “Dahil karamay tayo ni Jesus sa mga regalong natatanggap niya.” Dagdag pa ni papa.

Ah, kaya pala. Ang simple, hindi ba?

Nang lumaki na ‘ko, iba na para sa ‘kin, ang ibig sabihin ng Pasko: regalo para sa mga kapamilya, inaanak, kaibigan, kakilala; pagkain para sa Noche Buena; pera para sa mga namamasko; sa madaling salita… gastos.

Ang malala pa, inaasahan ko na rin ang mga matatanggap kong regalo at pera tuwing sasapit ang Pasko. Hindi dahil birthday ni Jesus, kungdi dahil dapat lang. Nagregalo ako, kaya dapat lang may matanggap din akong regalo. Gumastos ako para sa iba, kaya dapat lang gumastos din ang iba para sa ‘kin.

Pero ngayong lumalim na ang pananampalataya ko sa Diyos at muli kong pinagninilay-nilayan kung anong ibig sabihin ng Pasko, bumalik uli sa alaala ko ang mga sinabi sa akin noon ni papa.

“Birthday ni Jesus. At kaya tayo nakakatanggap ng regalo tuwing Pasko ay dahil karamay tayo ni Jesus sa mga regalong natatanggap n’ya.”

Ibinaba ni Hesus ang sarili upang maitaas tayo at maging karamay N’ya sa Kanyang Ama, karamay sa pagiging isang Anak ng Diyos, karamay sa lahat ng bagay. Mula sa pinakamasaya hanggang sa pinakamalungkot na sandali ng ating buhay karamay natin s’ya. Dahil alam n’ya kung pa’no maging isang tao. Ang sanggol na isinilang sa sabsaban at hinandugan ng mga regalo, nabuhay sa mundo, nagpahayag ng mabuting balita ay nakaranas ng pinakamalupit na uri ng kamatayan; ang pagpako sa krus.

Kaya naman, nagpapasalamat ako sa bawat araw na lumipas, malungkot man o masaya, dahil alam kong karamay ko s’ya. At kapag dumarating ang mga mabibigat na pagsubok ng buhay, alam ko na makakaya ko ‘yung malampasan dahil ng karamay kong si Hesus, nalampasan na ang pinakamabigat na pagsubok sa lahat.

Ngayong papalapit na uli ang Pasko, gusto kong ihandog sa kanya ang isang natatanging regalo, na sana’y ikasiya N’ya ng lubos. Ihahandog ko sa Kanya ang puso kong nalinis mula sa dumi ng kasalanan sa pamamagitan ng pangungumpisal dahil nais kong maging karapat-dapat na karamay ni Hesus.

< go to Better World newsletter   read next:NewWays to Donate to Better World>

First off, a trip to Angeles City, Pampanga,  to visit the students of Angeles City Special Education Center. It was a fun-filled day of  games, snacks, and, of course, storytelling with Better World’s Kuwentong Dinig audiobooks. The Kuwentong Dinig books are value-oriented children’s stories produced in formats accessible to visually impaired children.

Last year, Better World conducted a number of chastity talks with teen-agers from poor communities.  The half-day sessions, which included games and activities to help reinforce the lesson, taught teens about love, sex and marriage, and the values of chastity and purity.  The teenagers found the sessions to be eye-openers, while Better World volunteers were pleased to see how open and eager the teens were to listen and participate.

In June of last year, we held a session with the teens of Happyland community and surrounding areas, through the help of the Holy Trinity Parish Education Program. After the session, parish priest Father Luciano, met with us and requested our help to come up with a values education program for the youth in the area.

In response to that request, Better World came up with the Birtud! values education modules.  In October, we conducted a seminar with volunteers on how to teach values education and how to use the Birtud! curriculum. After that, the first volunteer began teaching students from Holy Trinity’s Alternative Learning System Center. ALS students are out-of-school youths who are being taught academics a few days a week in preparation for their high school equivalency exam.  Since the end of last year, these students have also been receiving values education lessons, based on the Birtud! curriculum.

The students have responded well to the program and Holy Trinity hopes to expand the project to reach more and more young people in its various barangays.

Better World’s Birtud! curriculum has both teens’ and kids’ versions. All the lessons are specifically designed for Filipino children and teens, taking into consideration language, culture and values-learning style. Each lesson has both discussions and interesting activities that keep the students engaged and make learning fun and enjoyable. Aside from learning values, the students are also building their confidence and exercising skills in critical thinking, creative and visual arts, writing and communication, and much more. 

The school was presented with one set of Kuwentong Dinig books. The Kuwentong Dinig books, created by Better World, are value-oriented children’s stories in Filipino, produced in audio CD, Braille, and large print formats. The books are given for free to schools with visually impaired students.

In our visit to San Miguel, the visually impaired kids were joined by other SPED students for a morning of fun and games with the volunteers. The facilitators played two of the audio CD’s, Ang Mahahabang Braso ni Pedring and Juan, to the delight of the children. The day ended with the sharing of snacks and giving away of loot bags for each of the kids.

Better World would like to sincerely thank our volunteers, as well as all the special education teachers of San Miguel ES, who were so accommodating. Thanks also to Principal Nerisa Fanuncio, and, of course, to all the kids and their parents.

San Miguel Elementary School is the 191st school to be given free copies of the Kuwentong Dinig books in audio CD, Braille, and large print. Better World is next slated to visit Angeles City SPED center this September.

students listening intently while the Kuwentong Dinig stories are played

For more photos, check out the album on our facebook page.

What are kids and teachers saying about Kuwentong Dinig?

It began with a partnership with ATRIEV Computer School for the Blind. ATRIEV asked Better World to create a series of videos as part of the Samsung Hope Campaign, in which ATRIEV was vying for a much-needed grant. Better World created 7 short videos to advocate equal opportunity for persons with disabilities, to promote disability awareness and to help raise awareness about ATRIEV’s work. ATRIEV teaches basic computer skills, provides job training in medical transcription and similar fields, and offers college scholarships, all for people who are visually impaired. Hundreds of people watched the videos on YouTube and voted in the Samsung Hope contest. ATRIEV went on to win that contest, and was given a one million peso grant to continue its good work. Better World is proud to have helped ATRIEV in its noble mission.

Better World also contributed its talents to a video project for the Cooperative Education Forum. Cooperatives are not only effective vehicles for poverty alleviation; they are designed to be models of fair and socially responsible business practices, based on values of justice and charity. The videos commissioned by CEF remind people of the cooperative values such as honesty, caring for others, responsibility and solidarity; and of the members’ role in making sure that their cooperative lives up to these ideals.

Better World’s 2009 outreach projects were also in partnership with like-minded organizations. In August, Better World visited the children of Kythe, an organization that offers psycho-social help to children with cancer and other long-term illnesses. Better World and volunteers had a fun day with the kids and their moms, with what Kythe calls a “Celebrate Life” party. It was indeed a celebration, giving the kids and their moms a break from the usual routines of illness and treatment, with Kuwentong Dinig storytelling, games, songs, food and giveaways. We hope that through our small gesture, we were able to bring a little cheer and a big sense of God’s love to these kids and their families.

Before the year ended, we had another outreach activity, this time in cooperation with Sis Joy Gonzales and the Missionaries of God’s love. This was the second time we have visited the inmates of the Correctional Institute for Women, but this time, the attendees were people who didn’t have families or friends to come to visit them. Even though it was a few days late, it was a true Christmas party, with prayer and sharing and songs of worship, as well as games just for fun, and of course, sharing of food and simple gifts. They were all very grateful. They once again said how much it means to them to receive even the simplest things they often go without – like a sachet of shampoo or a bar of soap. But, more than that, they said, it meant so much to them to just have people visit, to give them time, a little kindness, a simple hug. And it meant so much to us to be able to share our blessings with them. We thank the people of CIW, as well as our volunteers, donors and partners, who helped make that happen.

Of course, Better World continued distributing its Kuwentong Dinig children’s books in audio, Braille and large print, to schools for visually impaired children. For this, our partners were none other than you – our dear friends and supporters, people who chose to sponsor a school or make a donation so that more and more kids in need could benefit from these books. Because of your help, 190 schools have now received Kuwentong Dinig sets. Teachers from beneficiary schools all over the country continue to tell us how these books have helped their students learn, communicate, and be inspired. Thank you all for your generosity. Let us all continue to work together to touch the lives of these and other people in need.

May 2010 be another year of abundant blessings and of sharing those blessings with those in need. May God bless you and be with you all this new year and always!

Help us reach more kids and more schools.  Support Kuwentong Dinig.  Every donation counts.  You can make a difference in a child’s life today.

Contact us at 09155719362 or email betterworldmedia@yahoo.com. Kuwentong Dinig is a series of original value-oriented children’s books in Filipino produced in audio form, Braille and large print.

Learning to use computers opens new doors for people who are visually impaired.  Aside from increased access to information and channels of communication, computer education opens up much-needed opportunities for employment.  ATRIEV offers courses in medical and musical transcription, aside from its basic computer courses.  It also provides college scholarship programs through the help of generous donors.

ATRIEV conducted this year’s advocacy video campaign in line with the Samsung Hope project and was subsequently chosen to receive a grant of one million pesos.  The grant will help more and more visually impaired scholars receive the life-changing training ATRIEV offers.

Better World is proud to have created these videos for ATRIEV.  The videos are currently posted on Youtube on the channel ATRIEV.  Aside from the advocacy videos created by Better World, you can also see some of the talented performers from among ATRIEV’s present and former students and teachers.

From Better World and its partners and friends, Congratulations to ATRIEV! May you continue to help the blind see a brighter future!

Youtube videos:

“What if?’  - a humorous look at what it might mean to a sighted person to suddenly not be able to read or see and how the technology ATRIEV teaches can open up new worlds to someone who is visually impaired http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqPUMTB7aBg&feature=channel

 ”ATRIEV-Just like you” – visually impaired and sighted people together make a statement that all are equal and deserve equal opportunities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUk8CM5LsYM&feature=related

 ”Seeing the world through blind eyes” –  the point of view of someone who is visually impaired: how the world perceives and treats her as different, when in reality, she is just like anyone else. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu8zQ6eZG4c&feature=related

  “ATRIEV-Aleeia (DEIT)”  – a look at how ATRIEV’s Digital Early Intervention Training can improve everyday life for a visually impaired child. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNYiDufajQs&feature=channel 

“Alona Bateg: Introduction” and “ATRIEV -Alona Bateg- The Story” – the amazing story of the second blind medical transcriptionist in Asia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1hITE2Gt2I&feature=channel_page and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLeU38g0hNE&feature=channel

 “Angel Balasabas’ Scrapbook” and “ATRIEV- Angel Balasabas – profiles of a Samsung DigitAll Scholar and how ATRIEV gave her a chance at the college education she always dreamed of. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_KLlWAoyaY&feature=channel and  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQWV5gXu0r4&feature=channel

 “Seeing the world through Blind Eyes 2” – profile of Julius Serrano, blind computer programmer and former ATRIEV student “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkcSYbKo2Vs&feature=related