By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

NINETEEN participants completed a three-day training session at the Aqua Resort Club for a literacy program.
A national program that has been around for 20 years, Motheread/Fatheread helps parents become better readers of books for their children.
National trainer Gloria Gonzales said the program “is not just about books, its about story telling,” and it allows parents and their children to discuss what they learn during a reading session.
Every book, she said, has a theme, like unconditional love, communication, forgiveness and other values which adults can adopt to become better parents.
Gonzales said the program helps adult become better parents by increasing their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.
This week’s training that started on Monday was the second held on island. The program is also being implemented in 30 states and on Guam, Gonzales said.
She said the training involved a “wonderful group” of participants that came from different agencies on Rota, Saipan and Tinian.
She said the participants were excited and motivated to implement the program.
Felicidad Ogumoro, coordinator of the Division of Youth Services’ parent education program, said she wants Motheread/Fatheread included in school programs.
Marylynn Ogo of Rota Head Start said the trainers “made a difference in my journey to become a Motheread/Fatheread trainer.”
Gonzales said they will recruit more participants from the community — from schools, clinics, social service agencies, and the church.
As soon as these new participants become trainers themselves, they will start recruiting people to bring families together and ask them what kind of books they want for their children.
Whatever the parents learn, “they’ll go home and share it with their children,” Gonzales said. “And at the end of each session they win a book for their children, so we can start building home libraries.”
“Every child will have books in their home, and that’s the goal,” she added.