Week One with Biblioworks

Biblioworks staff and librarians work on a motivation exercise

After a brief flight from La Paz to Sucre via Cochabamba, Ryan and I began our work with Biblioworks, a nonprofit organization devoted to the maintenance and creation of libraries in rural Bolivia.

Last Sunday, we met up with our new coworkers for a trip to Villa Serrano and Tomina, two of the seven locations where Biblioworks supports libraries.  Ryan and I were both struck by the enthusiasm and optimism that the Biblioworks staff members bring to their work, and we enjoyed meeting six of their seven librarians.

We spent the first two nights of our trip in a hospital in Serrano that offered the rest we needed for a busy workshop.  Our days were packed with useful information, exercises, and activities. Among the highlights was a trip to see both the mayor and the education director to try and strengthen ties between the Serrano library and the local government.

Our visit to the Director of Education in Serrano

We also had a great time working with some of the local schoolchildren on reading and writing.  In my group, we pretended to be periodistas and interviewed some of the librarians about their work.

Periodistas at work

We spent the final night of the workshop in a Tomina internado--a home for the children of campesinos who live too far from any school to live at home.  Here, we set up a series of games for the kids to play, one of which was a reading station, which actually turned out to be a big hit!

In the internado.

All in all, it was a great trip that allowed us to get a quick introduction to Biblioworks and their libraries.  Both of us are impressed with the work that they are doing here, and we hope to get them some more funding. As of now, we are rolling up our sleeves and finding the right grant for this organization.