As children, we wander around the many places that become a reminder of how and why we are the people we are today. Through these stories entrenched within our community, like the dancing of the leaves or the legends from our elders, we are molded into the person we ought to become—a person, being a vessel of stories that are waiting to escape from the tip of our pens.
Stories are everywhere around us. While we are in the tender age of childhood, we roam around many places depending on wherever our feet and curiosity take us. Sometimes, in the woods just a few distance away from home, where stories of monsters and ghosts lurk once the night strikes. We hear stories as forms of lullabies that our grandma tells us in order to drift into dreamland—be it the history of the mountains that surround your town, or the legends of the heroes that went on a pilgrimage.
© Krishtine Rivera
Project Handurawan, an event spearheaded by Maratabat: MSU-Gensan Writer’s Guild in coordination with the Committee on Education under SK Labangal and headed by Hon. Kimberly Shyn Cabardo, carries an integrity hidden beneath its name: “A memory, remembrance, imagination, and vision,” as translated in Cebuano. The six-month duration of the project kicked off with the seminar to flourish the definition of the project itself—the art and the beauty that lie within the stories of children’s literature.
Flocking on the Alumni Pavillon are the writers who conquer the early afternoon with pen and passion in their hands. The seminar, “On Writing Local Children’s Literature: The Crafting of Si Jalal Ago so Ranaw," aimed to provide insights on how to write stories catered for children, as guided by the guest speaker, Atty. Hanna Usman, the author of the acclaimed story.
The seminar revolved around the process of writing children’s literature. Atty. Usman emphasized the importance of storytelling and how stories become the blood that flows within the children’s veins as they venture through their childhood. Members of the Maratabat Writer’s Guild, alongside the 2nd year students of the Bachelor of Arts in Literary and Cultural Studies, and the students from the Bachelor of Science in Education majoring in Filipino, were equipped with the sufficient skills and prowess to become effective storytellers to children.
© Krishtine Rivera
Jhomarie Maglangit Sevilla, president of the Maratabat: MSU-Gensan’s Writers Guild, shared how the seminar could spark inspiration for aspiring writers in starting with children’s literature, emphasizing how it could reinforce the appreciation of local heritages and cultural narratives within the region.
“First, I believe, it showcases the creative potential of children's literature rooted in local culture. It will open the eyes of writers on how they can share a piece of their life and identity through unique stories, characters, and values with young readers,” he shared in an interview.
He also emphasized how the techniques of effective storytelling, as shared by the guest speaker, could be an empowering tool for aspiring writers to pay attention to the stories within their own cultures and communities, becoming voices and catalysts for those who are dreading to be filled with stories.
“Secondly, hearing about the techniques and intentions behind creating culturally relevant children's stories can empower writers to think about their own communities' stories in a new light. The event also reinforces the importance of local voices in literature, encouraging writers to find inspiration in everyday life, folktales, childhood memories, and even in the wisdom of elders.”
Treasured cultures and traditions within the region and its communities are slowly fading away due to the test of time, and only through these stories and narratives can we continue to make its heart beat again and bring it to life. These aspiring writers, bearing the torch to rekindle the art of storytelling that widens the world of these young children, become a medium to foster and revive cultural heritage as well as the stories that continue to be passed down through generations.
All stories come to an end, but just like any other story written, there will always be a lingering lesson that continues to tug the heartstrings of our hearts. For these writers, a gnawing “moral of the story” seeps within: we were children once, and it is in our power to make children feel like they are living in a world full of kaleidoscopic cultures through the art of storytelling.
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