Library empowers Girls & Women in coastal Ecuador

Over the past ten years, I have seen profound changes in the children and young people in our community. Today, a six-year-old may enter the library greeting us in English. Children are curious, use educational apps, and increasingly aspire to study. They see others who have left the community and ask themselves, “How can I do that too?”

People also recognize the change in the local school. Teachers and families say that the library has made a difference because, in the past, many children reached secondary school without knowing how to read. The library’s work with the school has been an important part of this transformation.

Young people once considered it enough to know how to sign their name or find their way around a nearby town. They did not imagine studying, traveling, or discovering the wider world. That has changed. The library has helped them understand that traveling the world is not something only foreigners can do. With organization, clear goals, and hard work, they too have created new possibilities for themselves.

I have changed as well. I once thought that, because I had not finished high school, that was simply the end of my education. My life seemed limited to washing, cooking, and staying at home. I always found ways to earn some money—selling cheese or cleaning houses—but I did not see myself as someone who could lead the Community Library and could continue learning.

Today I say, “Thank you to the library, because I finished high school.” Most importantly, I never wanted my son to have the same limited opportunities I had. The library supported him throughout his education, and now he is attending a private university in Quito as a scholarship student.

When I was growing up, my mother was offered help so I could continue studying with another family, but she did not want me to leave home. I later became independent, and I always encouraged my son to pursue opportunities beyond what was familiar.

There have been so many changes. Who would have imagined that books could change lives in this way?

Yours truly

Miryan Rivas

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