The educational landscape in Cebu City received a significant boost as Minds on Wheels officially launched its pioneering learning drive at Labangon Elementary School on November 21, 2025. This event marks a strategic shift for the independent education foundation, which had spent the previous six years focusing exclusively on provincial communities.
Targeted Support for Young Readers
The program specifically targets 50 students from Grades 3 to 5 who have been identified by the Department of Education (DepEd) as having significantly low performance in reading and comprehension. Unlike traditional mobile libraries, Minds on Wheels implements a structured 8-week program designed to deliver measurable improvements in children's reading abilities.
Founder Chime Bell Osabel emphasized the program's transformative potential, stating: "When you strengthen comprehension, you don't just improve test scores—you change a child's trajectory." This philosophy underpins the foundation's approach to addressing literacy challenges at their core.
Comprehensive Learning Strategy
From Monday through Thursday each week, students and teachers will utilize the mobile library resources for both independent reading and structured classroom activities. This intensive exposure to reading materials aims to maximize the program's impact within the relatively short timeframe.
The successful launch of this initiative resulted from strategic partnerships with several key organizations, including Cebu Normal University (CNU), DepEd, Project HOPE (spearheaded by Renzo and Regan King), along with various donors and supporters who contributed resources and expertise.
Long-term Vision for Literacy Development
Beginning in 2025, Minds on Wheels will continue its Learning Drives throughout Cebu City for four consecutive years. The foundation has established an ambitious long-term goal: to measure and compare the literacy development of urban children against the results previously observed in provincial communities.
This comparative study represents one of the first efforts by a non-government organization in Cebu to systematically analyze how environmental factors contribute to reading proficiency advancement. The research aims to provide valuable insights into the different challenges and opportunities present in urban versus rural educational settings.
As Minds on Wheels expands its reach to include urban centers, it continues its mission of transforming children's educational trajectories through targeted literacy intervention and comprehensive support systems.
