CARD Publishing celebrates 5th Anniversary

Posted on August 3, 2022

The CARD MRI Publishing House Inc. celebrates its 5^th founding anniversary on July 11, 2022. The publishing house’s primary goal is to provide relevant information through traditional and digital media to inspire communities towards life-changing initiatives and life-long learning.

“The past five years were very vital to our institution. For us, it’s a journey of finding our niche. As a member institution of CARD MRI, we have taken on the crucial role of documenting the history of our efforts towards poverty eradication and nation-building. It is our hope that by producing various publications, we will keep the legacy of CARD MRI,” explains CARD MRI Publishing House Inc. President Marilyn M. Manila.

CARD Publishing is part of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions, a group of organizations with the common goal of poverty eradication. Established in 1986, CARD MRI has grown from a microfinance NGO into more than 20 institutions providing microinsurance, livelihood programs, and health services, among others. In 2017, CARD Publishing was established.

“CARD Publishing complements the financial and community development services that CARD MRI provides as a group. If our microfinance and microinsurance institutions provide the numbers and figures, CARD Publishing paints the color in our goal of poverty eradication through the stories of our clients, staff, and institutions published in various media,” said Aristeo A. Dequito, Managing Director of CARD MRI.

Books, newspapers, and many more

CARD Publishing started with Sulong, a development-oriented newspaper published in all the offices of CARD MRI and other external outlets. The newspaper, which originated from an internal newsletter called “Kilapsaw”, publishes development and inspiring stories in an effort to motivate not just CARD MRI members but also the general public to improve themselves, their communities, and the nation. As of July 2022, it has published a total of 30 issues.

From publishing only a newspaper, it has also evolved into publishing books such as “Microfinance and Beyond” by CARD MRI Founder and Chair Emeritus Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip in 2019. After two years, it also published the book, “Three Decades of Serving the Poor”, also written by Dr. Alip.

CARD Publishing House also released a travel catalog called CARDventures in 2019 that features travel stories and guides from cities across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.  From history, culture, food, and shopping to show the rich and interesting culture of the Filipinos with CARD MRI.

CARD Publishing House also launched Forward Magazine in 2018, a biannual magazine to communicate the institution’s core values. These publications serve to communicate, inspire, and transfer CARD MRI’s core values to staff, clients, and their children.

Publishing in the New Normal

The publishing industry is among the industries which were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. However, despite the sudden changes brought by the health crisis, CARD Publishing continued to thrive, introducing new products and services using new technologies and innovations.

CARD Publishing first tapped the storybook market through “Ang Magic Alkansya ni Carding,” a coloring book that teaches children basic financial literacy. This book was published in 2018 and was introduced to communities through face-to-face storytelling in public schools. To continue this initiative, CARD Publishing turned the storybook into an online learning session, where Carding’s story was brought to life through animation.

At the time when people had to continue communication through online platforms, CARD MRI tapped CARD Publishing to implement the Ugnayan at Kwentuhan Program. Through the social media pages of CARD MRI, clients and their families participated in various online activities such as Tiktok dance challenges, art contests, poetry making, and online storytelling. The outputs from these activities were turned into hybrid publications containing printed text and photos with QR codes linking to clients’ videos.

CARD Publishing also launched various webinars to hone the skills of the youth in writing and broadcasting.

The future for CARD Publishing

As communities take on the path towards recovery, CARD Publishing introduced its official mascot “Koa the Kwago” as the symbol for the launch of its in-person activities. Koa can be seen in the pop-up event “Koa Kafe”. This re-introduces the products of CARD Publishing along with the products of other CARD MRIs—coffee and other food items from Mga Likha ni Inay and travel boxes and merchandise from CARD MRI Hijos Tours. The activity features “Ang Lapis ni Anya,” a timely piece about the wise use of gadgets among children, in its storytelling activity.

In the first half of the year, CARD Publishing launched the Agri-Kaalaman Guidebook, which encourages sustainable food production and helps the community start their own businesses. This was inspired by the online webinar, “Agri-Kaalaman Webinar Series” of the CARD-Business Development Service Foundation Inc. in which CARD Publishing co-facilitates. The MFI Newswire, an online portal containing press releases and articles on the initiatives of the microfinance and microinsurance industry, was also launched in July 2022.

In collaboration with CARD Pioneer Microinsurance Inc., the book “Sachet Insurance” is set to be launched in 2023, detailing how CARD MRI and Pioneer Insurance became partners in providing Filipino families with affordable insurance.

“CARD Publishing will keep on producing books and other publications to share the vision, mission, and core values of CARD MRI that will continue to inspire and motivate communities to grow,” Manila concluded.

To find out more about CARD Publishing, visit its official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/PublishingHouseInc