By Johanny Quiejú | Library Coordinator
I’m so happy to see the progress we’ve made with the children from Chukmuk. Even though we are still in a small, temporary library location, we’re achieving our goals of getting the children involved with reading with activities such as “hora de cuento” (story hour). They love it! At every new session, the children are participating more and asking lots of questions about the stories we’re reading. Their interest in books is growing and growing, and I'm really excited that we will soon be moving the library to its permanent location.
When we first started story hour, the children rarely interacted with us at all. Because so few books are available to them, the children of Chuk Muk are simply not accustomed to having stories read to them, so they were a bit astonished. Now they’re becoming involved in the stories, and before the end of each session they always ask, “Cuándo será nuevamente la hora de cuento?” (When will we have story hour next?)
One big benefit of the story sessions and the children’s contact with books is how it is raising their self esteem. They are overcoming their inhibitions to formulate questions and speak up. This is especially important in a Mayan community that had been repressed for so long due to a harsh civil war that only ended in 1996.
Once I heard a quote that said, “Books are dangerous, they make you think!” I love being able to give the children of my community access to books and the incentive to think.
By Johany Queiju | Project Coordinator
By Brighid Carey | Intern
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