A Call to Share “Batong Bahay” Book Sharing Project

By Clarence M. Batan I wrote the book, Batong Bahay, to capture the sociology of my own family. After its formal release by the UST Publishing House last February, 2010, the first batch of readers including friends, relatives, teachers and students and some unknown individuals generally (delete) found the book to have captured the inner-workings of the ordinary Filipino family’s everyday struggles, conflicts, tensions and “little” victories amidst the ailing backdrop of poverty in the Philippines. I received numerous comments that Batong Bahay served as an inspiration and reflected human values that constitute the dynamics of Filipino life in the contemporary global world.

This sentiment was shared by President Benigno S. Aquino III in his letter to me:

“Natitiyak kong ang Batong Bahay ay

magsisilbing inspirasyon para sa ating mga kababayan upang mas bigyan nila ng halaga at pagmamahal ang kanilang mga pamilyang lagi

nating kaagapay sa pagharap sa hamon ng buhay at sa pagkamit ng ating mga pangarap.” (I am certain that “Batong Bahay” will serve

as an inspiration to our fellow Filipinos in upholding the value and love to our(delete)

their respective families who are their beloved partners in facing life challenges and in

fulfilling their dreams.) In this regard, I am launching the Batong Bahay Book Sharing Project to provide donated copies of my book to various school libraries, government, non-governmental and private

learning resource centers and organizations, and selected individuals. The primary goal of this project is to inspire fellow Filipinos to develop a reading culture and encourage the writing of folk and local life histories. To date, I have personally shared almost 300 free book copies to various organizations and individuals. Each book costs Php 220.00 (roughly US$5.00). If you are interested in buying/donating a Batong Bahay book under your name, or the name of your organization, please contact me at cbatan@hotmail.com or call/text 0906-528-0027 or 0933-934-8964. For North America, please contact Maria Rocy Tendencia at mrpt20@yahoo.com or call 1-902-404-7965.