By Rut Roman | President
When the sun is blazing and lunch is over, the children of this tiny village come on their own to the Library, nobody brings them, nobody forces them. Almost every afternoon, Arianna marches in the Library, she is usually accompanied by her friends Karen (11) or Lupe (9) Veronica (11) or Sophie (10). Arianna is friendly and vivacious and does not shy away from any challenge. She is doing great in school and recently learned that it's not cool to roll up your eyes when your friends make mistakes. By her demeanor, especially when new volunteers arrive, you can tell she feels like the proprietor, the hostess of the Library. And that, she is! (along with all her friends, classmates and neighbors). Maria lives in a little humble house down by the river; when she comes to the Library she has to cross a very dangerous highway and walk on her own until she meets her friends. Her parents, an elderly couple who took Arianna in, when she was left behind by a young mother in distress, are very supportive of Arianna’s education and trust her to come and go responsibly.
Back in February, after our last public financial report, -an annual occasion when we invite our benefactors, friends, and neighbors for a day of budget transparency, art, cooking and sharing of the Foundation’s efforts, Arianna came to us and bluntly pointed out: “the children in my neighborhood hear about us but are not allowed to cross the highway, so they can’t come; I want to start a Library in my house, you need to help me”. We started by giving her a box with colorful books, paper, pencils, crayons. Arianna's Library opens on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
We would like to share a brief conversation we recently had with Arianna:
How is the project helping you: “When I first came to the Library I was surprised to see sooo many books! And I love to read! Do you realize that I have read more books than anybody else in my family? I want to be a Doctor, and this Library is going to help me”.
What is the best thing about the Library: The people that greet me when I come. Everybody knows me, all the volunteers are so nice, always smiling. I really like the two rules we must abide by no screaming, no hitting. I love it here!
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