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 It's been more than a year since then Vice President for Programs and now JCI Cebu-Mactan Channel (Philippines) 2008 President Jolex Yu Lim and I sat down to discuss the possibility of handling the Corporate Social Responsibility programs of the company he was then connected with. We brainstormed for roughly an hour over ice-cold brewskies of San Mig Light. The company was an IT-inclined company who wanted to help the community to which they belonged to in Mactan Island. What they had in mind was to especially help the school children of various public schools that peppered Lapu-Lapu City.
As I reflected on what could best help kids to arm them further for the future that they will always be facing, I recollected my childhood and thought of things that I believed would have further helped me as I grew. It immediately struck me. My immense love for reading was only developed when I was already in college. As a child, I almost considered books as boring and simply a waste of time for me. I'd rather play around the house that to bury my nose in a book. The only books that I was 'forced' to open were my school books which I was obligated to study. These are one of my silent regrets in my childhood. It never occurred to me that opening a book would open up to so many adventures and excitement. Nowadays, any trip, any place, any lull in doing things would never be complete without my trusty companion, a book. I have developed an appetite of a voracious reader. Sometimes you'd even find me buying books that would overlap – not having finished reading one book, I'd buy another.
The idea that immediately came to fore was a project that would inculcate the importance and the power that reading can and will offer a child. The Read to Achieve project by the National Basketball Association immediately came to mind. In this program, they would enlist the help of renowned basketball superstars from their ranks to enjoy a day of reading stories for grade school children. I believe that it eventually churned out another notable program that promotes a 'Stay In School' idea. I made the pitch for such a program. Thus the Read to Achieve program for JCI Cebu-Mactan Channel (Philippines) was born. My wife, Emi, who also shares my passion for books and reading, quickly jumped at the responsibility of being project chairperson. She is also part and parcel of my eventual fondness for the written word. The Read to Achieve program was projected to be a long term program that would eventually evolve into an institution. The partnership with the IT-related company eventually fizzled out but that didn't stop us from pursuing this dream. We drafted guidelines on how this could be done: The chapter, with a capable corporate partner, would donate books together with a reading nook to a beneficiary public school and would put together a program that would invite notable personalities not just from the Cebuano community but from the entire archipelago as well. I even proposed the idea of contacting the NBA itself through the office of its Commissioner, David Stern, for a partnership in the program which would tie up and coincide with an NBA Star's scheduled trip to the Philippines (there's always one every year) and have him spend time with our project as a guest reader. So far, so good.   The program eventually came to be known as Read to Lead, focusing on JCI's aim to develop better leaders in the community to develop better societies. What better way to develop leaders than to start them in their childhood? We have been passionate about this and have been trying to lead and guide our son, Dain Angelo, via this route. And he just got elected Class President. We must be doing something right. Emi found an equally passionate person for this venture in JCI Asia Pacific's Most Outstanding Trainer Maimai Dasmariñas, our member, to further bring the project into reality. OMF Literature was very excited when we presented the idea and they immediately became our strongest partner for the Read to Lead program. They provided us with the Hiyas Children's books collection as the perfect gift for the beneficiary schools. We have our launching last December and we identified nine(9) public schools that would be the first batch of the Read to Lead program beneficiaries. It really warmed my heart that what was just an idea, a dream to say the very least, was fast unfolding before my very eyes.
 Last Saturday afternoon of June 28, at Powerbooks at the Northwing of SM City Cebu, marked the inauguration of the Read to Lead Program for the Kamputhaw Elementary School. With the partnership of OMF, the Kamputhaw Barangay Council, the Cebu City Government, Mia Disenyo, adpDESIGNS, My Playroom and Leona's, we distributed Hiyas Children's books collections for EVERY grade level in the beneficiary school. We held a simple program that saw renowned Hiyas Children's Books Author Ms. Elizabeth Ong hold a reading session for the children present! What's more was she personally signed the books that were given to the kids. Such a wonderful wonderful experience. Seeing the children immediately flipping through their new books was such a sight to behold. What once was a dream has now become a reality. What made the inauguration all the more special was the presence of Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama, a long time friend and partner of our chapter. He never thinks twice every time we call on his support because automatically he's there for us. The Read to Lead program also seeks to constantly donate new sets of children's books for the beneficiary schools every quarter of a year. It aims to promote the love of reading not in just a one-time event but we focused on the long term development. Proud of having been able to conceptualize the idea, I wanted to make it a mission to make these kids a whole lot better than me when they grow up. I started my love for reading in college; we're making it a point in inculcating the love of reading in them at such an early age.
We've come a long way. But there is still more work to be done. We still have to complete our promise to eight other schools. Hopefully, the inauguration of the Kamputhaw Read to Lead program will create the needed maelstrom of publicity that will further boost the realization of the project. When the idea of Read to Lead popped into my head, it was quite a long shot to succeed. But hard work, dedication and the passion to bring this into realization. Indeed, the children are our future. Our country is beset by so many problems today, that's just it, we know that this will only last for the present. We're doing our best to contribute for the future of our country. Remember, we won't be around in the future, but our children will. We owe it to them. 
I simply provided the idea, Emi and Maimai provided the direction. This is a basic principle in our chapter, JCI Cebu-Mactan Channel (Philippines). To make something out of nothing. My idea of the Read to Lead program was but a pebble that was thrown into the water. It created ripples that have been continuing to spread even up to now. It has made me so proud in seeing my simple idea grow into such massive proportions. It is now becoming a very powerful tool for positive change and that is what matters most. We all need a good story, I'm hoping that what we started will turn out to be one of the best stories there ever will be.
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