Children's Book Project

When I accepted a two-year long volunteer position to improve the health of a community in Peru, literacy was the farthest thing from my mind.  My focus was on measuring the levels of malnutrition and preventable illnesses, like diarrheal diseases from poor sanitation (“Montezuma’s Revenge” still exists in Peru!), and surveying each household on their knowledge and behaviors regarding nutrition, early childhood development and hygiene, and documenting their barriers to change.

But my focus expanded when the neighborhood kids started coming to my house every afternoon to see what the “gringa” is doing.  Often I am found sitting in front of my host family’s home seeking shade and a cool breeze that allows me enough relief from the mid-day heat to study Spanish textbooks, or just read for pleasure.  The kids were curious about the books I was reading, and I got into the habit of reading aloud from whatever book I had with me.

Eventually I realized that these kids have rarely (or possibly have never before) seen anyone read for pleasure.  The town’s library is woefully lacking books and there are no textbooks books in the local school.  In addition, most parents have a reading level that is too low to read to their kids; even if there was a way to buy or borrow a book it could seem like an insurmountable challenge to read more than a few pages.

I wanted to continue reading to the neighborhood kids, but they got bored of hearing about my Spanish lessons and they were too young for the fantasy adventure book I was reading. So, I asked my mother to send me a few children’s books, including a Curious Jorge book that told the story in both English and Spanish. The children were absolutely fascinated with hearing the stories in both languages!  They listened with rapt attention and tried to figure out which English words corresponded to the Spanish words. 

The children started coming over on a daily basis begging me to read to them and asking to borrow the books to read to themselves.  I was tickled to see their fascination with the books and it spurred an idea to ask my friends and family to send more books that could be donated to the library.   I collected over 100 donations of books from the following contributors:

Sandy and Nik Nichols

Bob Crow and Pat Snyder

Connect360 Multimedia 

Michelle Quivey

Julie Triplett

Allison Eichele

I scheduled regular weekly reading sessions in the community library, which received an overwhelming response.  Each week 40 to 50 kids packed the tiny library to hear magical stories and finally have a chance to hold a book in their hands.   I would like to thank the book donors for their generosity in helping me provide an opportunity to spark a love for reading for so many children.

Reading is a skill that is essential for developing a child’s mind, which is essential for learning and critical thinking later in life.  Given their limited access to books and internet, the children in my rural town finally have the opportunity to stimulate their minds by exploring new and different worlds through stories told in books.  I have been so delighted to find support from kind people who want to give these kids a chance to expand their imaginations and lose themselves in reading, as we once did when we were young.  I am hopeful that this project will truly have a lasting impact in the children of my adopted community which will carry through to the next generation.