Found a Library for 250 Mayan Kids in Guatemala

At Instituto Privado Mixto Kajib’ No’j everybody helps.  When our small team arrived in July, third graders were sweeping the garden area with adult-sized brooms.  “They’re here,” they shouted in Spanish and K’iche’, and quickly returned those oversized brooms to their proper container, one made of recycled water bottles.  The kids’ enthusiasm is contagious.  Students, ages five to sixteen, know the opportunity that lies before them.  Most of their parents went to school for two years.  Kajib’ No’j provides eleven years of education, preschool through ninth grade.

Thanks to you, GlobalGiving supporters, and to our partners at the Austrian Guatemalan Institute, Kajib’ No’j now offers a school library as well.  Here elementary teachers plan lessons while referencing Guatemalan-published textbooks, and middle school students read some of the world’s great literature.  In fact, the school recently celebrated their own Día del Libro, or Day of the Book.  In the gymnasium parents browsed the literature that From Books to Brilliance provided.  Students then acted out scenes from their favorite books.

Just a few weeks ago, our team added one hundred children’s books, as well as dozens of games and puzzles to this new library.  Class by class, the youngest students at Kajib’ No’j filed in to see these exciting new resources.  Preschoolers couldn’t wait to put together the puzzle with the giraffes, monkeys and elephants.  First-graders loved the Mayan alphabet book…G for Güipil and Q for Quetzal.  In planning for the future, teachers requested class sets of textbooks for grades one through six.

Students are proud of their school that the Austrian Guatemalan Institute founded over twenty years ago. “The kids bring their own supplies,” says Principal Pedro Euligio. They carry backpacks with pencils, erasers, scissors and rulers.  They know that learning is a privilege that will lead to better opportunities for themselves, their families and their communities.  The faculty and students at Kajib’ No’j asked us to thank you all!

Is the library open yet?  Three months ago Instituto Privado Mixto Kajib’ No’j received a beautifully constructed wood and glass bookshelf, a gift from our partners, the Amigos at the Austrian Guatemalan Institute.  This gorgeous piece now holds Guatemalan textbooks for all primary subjects and grades, as well as world literature for the school’s more advanced readers.  The classroom, where last year young musicians practiced the marimba, now serves as the library.  Tables and chairs moved in, and students began to occupy them.   Yes, Ladies and Gents, the Biblioteca Kajib’ No’j is now open and serving its community. 

Principal Pedro Euligio claims that this project strengthens the development of critical thinking skills as well as enriches the knowledge and vocabulary of the students.  Purportedly this nascent library, with only a few hundred books, is already influencing educational outcomes for Kajib’ No’j’s elementary and middle school students. The library is indispensable because it provides various sources of information and at the same time encourages our students to read, says one teacher.  To date the library in this school has had a great influence on learning, says another.

A library is much more than a venue.  It is a hope, a dream, a future.  It is power.  From Books to Brilliance and our generous supporters work hard to invest resources where libraries like this one will thrive.  It is the complementary hard work and persistence of the faculty that inspires students to read, study, and to take advantage of those resources.  Their enthusiasm inspires us as well.  During our annual trip to Guatemala in July, we expect to grow this tiny library, tailoring all books and educational materials to the specific needs and requests of staff and students at Kajib’ No’j.  Please watch for upcoming news and thank you so much for your support!