Project JULIA launched in Igbaras town

By Regina E. Zagala

We started February with a bang!

The launching of Project JULIA (Join-Us-Literacy-In-Action) last February 2, 2020, was a genuine success! It captivated the minds and brought smiles to the faces of Grade 1, Section 1 students of the Igbaras Central Elementary School. Indeed, literacy is important for community building, thus, the Local Government Unit was hands-on in ensuring this project’s success.

Project JULIA aims to start a learning and reading center in Igbaras, Iloilo where books are scarce and a library is non-existent. This initiative aims to transform lives, revitalize communities, improve literacy, and promote youth engagement, one book at a time. We strongly believe that when you read a worthy book, it positively changes one’s outlook in life. Indeed, a world without books is like a planet without life.

The concept of Project J.U.L.I.A. was inspired over the summer of 2019. It is the partner of ‘The B.E.L.L.A. (Bringing Empowerment to Little Learners Abroad) Project’ which provides school supplies to the indigent families in the mountainous area of our barangays.

The two projects were founded by Dulce Fernandez-Palor, a native of Igbaras who now lives in the United States. Though she is miles away from the Philippines, her heart is still with the Igbarasnons. A pride of Igbaras, she has a generous heart for the people in need.

Board games, stuff toys, and books consisting of teenage novels, cookbooks, religious materials, comics, and children’s books arrived on December 31, 2019, from America.

Thereafter, we started recruiting Project Ambassadors, Ambassadress, and Team Members to help with organizing the various tasks involved.

Today, there are 20 team members which consist of young professionals, college students, and high school students from Igbaras. All are willing to offer their time and talents to help increase literacy in our humble town.

The shipment of books and other materials will continue to arrive from our donors abroad as we expand our wish to serve and spread literacy to different areas of our hometown.

And with the help and support of our local government, our future goal is to have a permanent space for a free learning center that will benefit everyone.

It is our ardent desire and sincere hopes that through books, the people especially the children and youths will be transformed. We live by our mantra of Read More. Know More. Achieve More.