Gabby Ghas book-reading sessions held for local school kids

A storytelling session was held for third- and fourth-grade pupils of barangays Masaya and Paciano Rizal in Bay, Laguna, featuring the picture book, The Adventures of Gabby Ghas.

Gabby Ghas is a tiny grain of palay who wanted to know his place in the world and goes on a journey during which he encounters rice seedlings, weeds, predatory insects, and friendly insects that protect rice plants from harm.

The book, which won the story-writing contest conducted by the AsiaRice Foundation, the Alpha Phi Omega Service Sorority, and the Philippine Department of Education, aims to make young children aware of the important processes involved in the production of rice, a staple food—from planting, harvesting, hulling and milling, selling in the market, and, finally, rice arriving at its ‘destiny’ which, in the story, is a hungry boy’s plate.

It was written in 2009 by Virna Karla Sebastian, Erika Thea Ajes, and Aya Arce. The storytelling was performed by Oscar “Kuya Pong “ Garcia in an interactive manner, for the enjoyment of the children.

IRRI will donate 10 copies of Gabby Ghas to the libraries of each elementary school in the Bay and Los Baños area, after each book-reading session, which have been scheduled until the last week of February 2014, in partnership with the Department of Education and Culture and the AsiaRice Foundation. SUHAY, the IRRI spouses’ club, also supports the storytelling sessions by providing free snacks for the children.


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