Creating Girl Readers in Guatemala
Photo from Progress Report 'Postcard from The Riecken Foundation in Guatemala'
Rosa cataloging books in Xolsacmalja
Photo from Progress Report 'Guatemalan Girl Readers'
Discovery
The Riecken Foundation’s vision is to use knowledge to open the door to individual opportunity, community development and the positive transformation of developing nations. The more experience this girl in Zacualpa has in accessing information and analyzing it, the better prepared she will be to take on the world as she matures.
Role Models Inspire
Girls need older role models for support, guidance, and as examples for developing and taking ownership of their personal set of values and building their identity. Since the culture of volunteerism is so strong in community libraries, they provide the perfect place for girls to find mentors, such as in the Chiché library.
New Definitions
Riecken community libraries promote a methodology of research more akin to “exploration” so that girls investigating a homework assignment or a teen looking for information on a topic of personal interest are comfortable stepping from one type of material to another such as the Internet, reference books, and others, using a simplified version of the Dewey Decimal System.
