There was a real effort made to buy books which were educational (the one shown here is really important), fun, informative, and just good fiction that would fire the imagination. We tried to get some for all age groups and hoped that the older girls would read to the younger ones.
This is Louisa, a long time resident of the home. We were able to get a used lap top computer through the Wells of Hope for her and gave her the responsibility of cataloguing the books and starting some kind of control system.
Louisa was one of 2 girls who graduated several years ago from an accounting course. We were proud to be a part of their education by providing the money to pay tuition, exam fees, help with "business" clothes so they could complete their internship, etc. The other girl has been successful in finding work, but Louisa, although she is a very bright young woman, has not been able to find a workplace that will her acommodate her mobility challenges.
When I was in Guatemala in November 2010, I took this shot which shows the results we had hoped for when thinking about a library.
This girl was completely lost in her book and had been called 3 times for supper.
More money has been earmarked for the library and additional books have been purchased. The school year in Guatemala runs from January to October and just as here in Canada, at the start of each new year, the girls need work books and textbooks. Without financial help, the girls often had to share textbooks, sometimes there was only enough money to buy 1 textbook to be shared by as many as 10 or 12 girls.
When we set up this library project, we thought rather than getting old style reference books, we would get internet access so they could research what they needed. This has been extremely successful and we now have procured a second connection. This has helped the girls (especially the older ones) enormously by allowing them to research school assignments and keep pace with their more fortunate peers.
