Editor’s note: Born in the Philippines in 1965 and educated in the private school systems there and abroad, Nina Patawaran was fortunate enough to receive a good education, but witnessed firsthand the struggles Filipino children faced in the school systems. Nina went on to study around the world, and up until the financial crisis in 2007, she was a successful banker in New York City. Today, Nina is on a mission to increase literacy among the Philippine community — and doing so in a very focused, strategic and creative way. Don’t just sit there … Think Up!

My father passed away in 2002 and I was always looking for a way to memorialize him. Whatever initiative this was going to be, I knew it would have to do with education. I learned at the age of 14 that my father never attended school full-time. Instead, he went to work, and on the side peddled in the streets to ensure that he provided for his family and to be able to give his children a better education than he received. I distinctly remember my mother trying to bribe book salesmen to visit our home and bring us books. Mom made reading a huge priority but books were hard to come by. We couldn’t afford television, but we entertained ourselves with books.

In February 2006, I donated 160 hardbound English dictionaries to Sagrada Elementary School, in Negros Oriental. Each book was stamped with "In memory of Walfrido R. Patawaran," my father. That was the beginning of the Philippines Dictionary Project. I knew mailing a check to a school in the Philippines would have been one way to honor my family, but it would not have been as fulfilling.

Soon the Philippines Dictionary Project will reach a total of 85 schools. This translates into approximately 30,000 underprivileged children benefiting from child-friendly dictionaries courtesy of the project. The emphasis on dictionaries purposely designed for children is important because young students have their own special needs: large fonts, a lot of pictures, generous use of color, foolproof phonetic pronunciation guides and definitions expressed in simple but full sentences. Dictionaries are very much needed by public elementary schools as limited vocabulary among the children prevents them from fully comprehending the passages that they read.

I find the donations, work with the local communities to figure out where the needs are greatest and ensure that the local schools distribute and account for the books. Accountability is vital. That time in 2006, I had a bad experience. When I went to follow up on the 160 donated books, I was told that some were missing. I was disappointed. Pilferage runs rampant in the public schools and without a checks-and-balance system, I knew the Philippines Dictionary project would not take off. Who would donate money if the books would end up being stolen and sold? So I came up with a plan.

For the protection of all donors, I established dictionary banks at reputable universities and colleges across the country. The local schools can borrow a set of 50 dictionaries from the local dictionary bank for a nominal rental fee of P500 (approximately $11) for the entire school year. The partner dictionary bank donates time, manpower and library know-how. Dictionary banks have begun conducting teacher-training workshops for the participating public schools, because 99.9 percent of the public schools do not have licensed librarians …