IMUS CITY, Cavite — After being stopped for almost two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kwentuhan sa Plaza returned for Imuseño kids, Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at the historic Imus Plaza in Barangay Poblacion 1-C here.

The activity was a fun and good experience for around one hundred local kids who were gathered by the Imus City Parks and Historical Sites Administration Unit and Imus City Public Library.

Imus City First Lady Jelyn Maliksi was the guest storyteller who read a book before kids aged 5 to 12 years old.

“Hangad po nating maisulong pa sa ating mga kabataan ang pagbabasa bilang isang mahalaga at masayang gawain para sa Batang Imuseños,” Mrs. Maliksi said.

City Park administration staff gave souvenir toys to the young participants.

Mr. Edwin Malicsi, park administrator said, they limited the young audience just to a hundred and followed the national government’s health protocols to ensure the safety of the participants.

The area was closed after the Cavite was placed under total lockdown in conjunction with the nationwide declaration of a pandemic in the country in March 2020.

Kwentuhan sa Plaza started at sundown on a humid Friday in 2016, wherein children gathered at the historic Imus City plaza next to the statue of local hero, Gen. Licerio Topacio, in front of the old municipal hall building and the picturesque Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral

Local kids sat on the floor on crossed legs, as city public librarian Rose Roman, 57, hosted the book reading, storytelling and proper hygiene to all the guests

Kwentuhan sa Plaza, a storytelling project of the city library and the City Parks and Historical Sites, aims to instill values among children while nurturing a community with a penchant for reading.

Roman, a city librarian for 29 years, thought of the project one day as she was looking over the plaza from the lonely, dusty library that rarely had any visitors.

The plaza was revived and allowed for sightseeing by residents after the local government closed when the pandemic entered the country.

Roman remembers the first few story telling sessions with just about 20 kids listening and a budget of P25 per child for snacks—juice paired with so-called “mamon” (sponge cake).

The sunset storytelling habit began to be held every first Friday of the month and turned into a regular event that children looked forward to during the pre-pandemic period.

In a period of few months, the audience grew to 80 to 100 children. Some of them came from neighboring towns and cities that the local government had to provide monobloc chairs and a better sound system, said Roman.

Kwentuhan sa Plaza also attracted volunteer storytellers led by Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi and government employees, followed by schoolteachers, police officers, firefighters and members of non-governmental organizations.