Monday 26 October 2015

ALDUB nation and ALDUB Libraries

I admit I am an ALDUB fan, although I already swore oath to Canadian allegiance, I am still a Filipino by heart and will be part of the culture that makes all Filipinos uniquely special, one of which is ALDUB nation. It didn't surprise me that I became glued to Filipino TV show Eat Bulaga with the animated dubsmashing of a new character Yaya Dub. Add to it the split-screen romance blooming between Yaya Dub and a good-looking lad named Alden Richards. It felt "kilig" and good and the whole new way of making the audience yearn for more " kalyeserye" brought back memories from my  teenage years. Watching the show became a regular thing for our family, even my young kids laugh at the gimmicks, even sing and dance along but the 3-sisters (Nidora, Tidora and Tinidora) characters added more spice to the love team. The lessons about love, courtship and relationships taught the viewers - some of which have adapted to the fast-tracked, modern ways and missed out on the real values. Lola Nidora ensures that we learn about the right way and that there is a right time for everything.

"Tamang panahon" is the venue for the split screen pair to finally have more time to be with each other as the previous attempts have been cut short due to unavoidable circumstances. Of course, I got excited, I wondered about what's in store for Alden and Yaya Dub at that moment. Meanwhile, the show is going to be held at the Philippine Arena, the biggest indoor arena in the country. It is supposed to fill 55,000 viewers.

What surprised me and made me emotional is the objective of the Eat Bulaga show to donate the ticket sales/proceeds to charity - to build libraries in public schools all over the country and they will call it ALDUB libraries. That is an amazing initiative! ....scenes from my elementary and high school days came flashing and it made tears fall down my cheeks. I hope my kids will be able to read this:

I love to read and always loved books. I think it was triggered by the fact that in my early years of studying, there was scarcity of books in our library. Only when you are given the chance to get hold of one, you will appreciate the joy of reading and learning.  I went to a public school in Pasig (then a municipality) and the books were shared, unlike in the private schools where each student use their own books.  Let's say a typical class have 40 students, most of the time, the number of books available are only 4. The 10 students per group share the book. During high school, I volunteered to become a student-librarian so I will have access to the books available in the library, I took the opportunity of reading Sawyer, Huck Finn, Austen, Odyssey, Iliad, Othello, Wuthering and other Literature in that library, there were only few Filipino classics. The books were old, and pages were brown, fragile and dusty but because the characters and scenes in the novels seemed more interesting, the physical attributes of the book didn't matter. By the way, I belonged in the highest section class and my schools were in Pasig City close to the capital so can you imagine a scenario in a public school in Isabela or in Dumaguete or in Tawi-Tawi? You will be lucky to see 4 books in a class.

My nanny back home told me that the reason why she stopped studying and opted to work as a nanny instead was because there were no books and no classrooms even in their province. My heart sank thinking about the plight of other school children in the Philippines, it is totally the opposite here in Canada.  But I am also sad that with the abundant, newer books, crisp pages and endless varieties here in Canada, children don't read books on their own unless asked by their parents or teachers. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

ALDUB gave us hope. With the successful Tamang Panahon show and its fundraising that reached 20 million pesos, I'm pretty sure the books will fill each library for the Filipino school children. I am so thankful to ALDUB and Eat Bulaga. They're taking advantage of their popularity for a good cause, it may fade but they will leave a legacy, the ALDUB libraries will make a great impact to our country.  You are not only making us happy and excited everyday but you also gave hope to education and the future of this nation. May the Good Lord bless you more. Salamat sa inyo!