“Story-telling with Bp. Ambo” Launched By Vangie Nicdao, Project Development and Management Committee

The newly-organized Holy Rosary Parish- Social Action Center (HRP-SAC), in coordination
with New Life Lay Missionaries, Inc. launched “Story-telling with Bp. Ambo” last May 23, 2009.
The once-a-month activity features Bp. Pablo “Ambo” S. David, Parish Priest of Holy Rosary
Parish as storyteller narrating stories on varying themes every third Saturday of each month. It is
designed to educate children about social issues and the parish’s advocacies. It is on its trial run from May to September 2009.

Session on Rabies Prevention
The story-telling session for May featured the story of a 5-year old boy who died of rabies after getting scratched by a neighbor’s unvaccinated dog.
“Mga bata, kung mahal n’yo ang inyong mga alagang aso paalalahanin ang inyong mga magulang
na pabakunahan ang mga ito taun-taon at huwag hayaang magpagala-gala.” In simple words, Bp.
Ambo advocated for responsible pet ownership and rabies prevention before an audience of 52 children (aged 5 to 10) from four barangays of Angeles City, namely Brgy. Amsic, Cutcut, Sto. Rosario and Cutcut. The children are beneficiaries of a 6-month catechesis cum feeding program implemented by the New Life Lay Missionaries, Inc. since April 2009. Seated comfortably on plastic mats spread on the floor in the Bishop’s Conference Room, the children nodded vigorously and listened attentively as Bp. Ambo, whom the children fondly called Among Ambo, narrated his story with the passion of a well-seasoned story-teller. The session was made interactive by a question and answer portion that elicited eager response from the children. Holy Rosary Parish has involved itself in the advocacy against rabies through its membership in the City-Government-initiated Coalition Against Rabies Disease (CARD). It sits as member of the
Committee on Education and Information of CARD along with Santungan ng Kababaihan at Kabataan sa Pampanga (SANGKAP) which sponsored the food for the launching of the story-telling project. SANGKAP is a non-government organization that concerns itself with issues affecting children, women and the youth. Its initial project is Rabies Prevention and Organized Intervention (R-POI).

Session on Heroism
All 52 children who attended the May session were in for another treat, this time with a
story about heroism. The June 20 story-telling session featured a faculty member of the Holy
Angel University Lab School who narrated a story entitled, “The Most Beautiful Thing in the
World”. With the aid of an oversized storybook with colorful illustrations Ms. Naomi Villanueva,
the story-teller, kept the children attentive throughout the session which was made livelier by
audience participation. Ms. Villanueva stood in for Bp. Ambo who had a hectic schedule throughout the month of June. After the session, members of the New Life
Lay Missionaries, Inc. and Barangay Health Workers distributed food among the children and
other participants as part of their supplemental feeding program.