Stories of home for children by children
WHERE have all the good children’s stories gone?
They still keep coming like in The Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation Inc. (GASFI) writing contest, led by its president, Marissa Oca, daughter of Philippine maritime industry leader, Capt. Gregorio S. Oca. They continue to encourage and revive the dying art of reading especially to young people.
Oca who also runs Saint Pancras Academy at the Seamen’s Village in Dasmarinas, Cavite has time and again advocated the importance of reading among the pupils in her school. "Reading brings you beyond the classroom and into the unknown world," she says. "A wide reader has more edge over students who don’t. This competition – apart from discovering new writers for children’s stories – is aimed at encouraging reading especially among the young now drawn more to television and internet games."
The contest yielded 10 winners from predominantly young writers among them Andrea de la Cruz (Judith and The King of the Sea), Raechelle Castellon (Lost at Sea) and Hernani Pizzaro Geronimo (A Boat, A Banana and A Smile).
It is the first major writing prize for the three winners who did not have a hard time relating to the subject which revolves around the lives of families and children of seamen.
On her part, Andrea de la Cruz,wrote Judith and the King of the Sea which is about a young dreamer who finds happiness and solace in her underwater adventures as a mermaid princess. She said the story is about love, the places your imagination can take you, and life’s true treasures.
Points out De la Cruz: "I have often been fascinated with mermaids and other creatures of lore since I was a young girl. This story blends my love for fantasy and nature with my appreciation for the uniqueness of the family ties of a Filipino family, especially one that involves seafarers."
The idea of writing for children she found a bit tough.
Says de la Cruz who is in the staff of UST’s Varsitarian: "I think the challenge I faced with writing this story is trying to find that reader-appropriate balance between the ‘moralistic’ and ‘entertaining’ aspects of the story – where you try to impart important life lessons and still be interesting and entertaining enough to capture their attention."
Raechelle Castellon who wrote Lost at Sea faced the same challenge. She said: "It wasn’t easy at all. I was never a daughter of an OFW or a seafarer. But I did have friends and relatives who grew up away from their parents, for one reason or another. This was where I drew inspiration from. Feelings of estrangement for an absentee parent was most striking to me, so I decided to let my story revolve from there." Hernani Pizzaro Geronimo said his story, A Boat, A Banana, and A Smile, is inspired by how seamen who are fathers, too, have to sacrifice a lot, enduring the loneliess of a life at sea to give more than a good life to a family who long for the presence of a father and husband, and a good future, too.
After having a good look at the stories of other winners, Geronimo admitted: "With this contest, I did not just win in a writing competition. I also won friends who will from here on enhance the palette of my life, and my humanity. This is certainly more than a gig. It is a life defining moment I share with the nine other storywriters for kids, whose ages range from teen-hood to grandmotherhood."
The judges of the writing contest are book author Neni Sta. Romana Cruz and publisher Karina Bolasco.
Bolasco said: "We publish books for children because everything begins with the children. When we do publish books for children, what we really want to convey and share with others is our very own joy, or pleasure, in children’s books. It is one of our fondest remembrances of childhood – being lost in a book, being carried out of ourselves when we read and savor the pictures or images."
The other winners of the competition include Eliza Victoria (Jeremy’s Magic Well), Joaquin de Jesus (Quentin and His Violin), Kathleen Aton-Osias (The Perfect Present), Sylvia Mayuga (A Tale of Tong-its), Edilberto Sulat, Jr. (See, I Am Holding Daddy’s Hand), Czarina Vijulet Jusi (Why Uncle Martin Can’t Fix My Bike) and Cherrie Anne Remoroza (The First Day).
The writing competition is one of the projects lined up by Oca’s foundation in memory of her son, Gig, who passed away two years ago at the age of 17.
The winning stories will be published by The Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation Inc., with illustration by Beulah Taguiwalo.